Brindled Flat-body vs Cigar shark

Agonopterix arenella compared with Isistius brasiliensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brindled Flat-body	Cigar shark
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Squaliformes (Squaliformes)
Family	Depressariidae	Dalatiidae
Genus	Agonopterix	Isistius
Species	Agonopterix arenella	Isistius brasiliensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Brindled Flat-body and Cigar shark share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

View Kingdom: Animalia

Conservation Status

Brindled Flat-body

LC — Least Concern

Cigar shark

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brindled Flat-body	Cigar shark
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brindled Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Cigar shark

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Chile, Norway, and Taiwan.

Brindled Flat-body

The Brindled Flat-body (Agonopterix arenella) is a species in the genus Agonopterix. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Cigar shark

The cigar shark, also known as the cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis), is a small but remarkable shark in the family Dalatiidae, found throughout warm oceanic waters worldwide in tropical and subtropical latitudes. Reaching only 40–50 centimeters in length, it possesses oversized jaws with large, triangular lower teeth arranged in a saw-like series that cut distinctive circular plugs of flesh from much larger prey—including tuna, dolphins, whales, billfish, and even submarine cables and human bodies. It does not kill its prey but instead latches on, rotates its body, and excises a characteristic cookie-cutter-shaped bite. The cigar shark is bioluminescent, emitting a green glow from photophores on its ventral surface that may serve as counter-illumination or to attract prey from below. It undertakes diel vertical migrations, ascending to shallower waters at night and descending to mesopelagic depths during the day. The species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a vast oceanic distribution and no targeted commercial fishery. It is occasionally taken as bycatch. The geographic epithet brasiliensis refers to Brazil, where early specimens were described, but the species' range is circumglobal in warm oceans. The cookiecutter shark's feeding strategy is one of the most unusual among elasmobranchs.