A master of camouflage, the critically endangered Angelshark is a fascinating resident of the shallow coastal waters of Wales. Here, Jake Davies and Joanna Barker describe the ecology of the Angelshark and its distribution in the north-east Atlantic, and introduce the Angel Shark Project: Wales, a conservation project that aims to safeguard Angelsharks in Welsh waters.
In shallow coastal waters off Wales, hidden under sand or mud, lives one of the world’s rarest and most unusual species of shark. Angelsharks Squatina squatina, which can reach a length of 2.4m (Compagno et al. 2005), are masters of camouflage, their skin coloured perfectly to match the soft sediments in which they bury their flattened bodies by using large and powerful pectoral fins.