Pictures and text:  Rudolf  Svensen

The shark on this picture is the smallest shark in Norwegian waters. It is called Velvet Belly ( Etmopterus spinax ) because of its smooth skin .
I often see this fish at winter times during night dives in the deep fjords. The shark may be spotted as shallow as 15 metres at special locations, but is more common the deeper I dive.
Velvet Belly is found on sand or muddy bottom, where it search for food like shrimps and small fishes like gobies . I have also seen small sharks eating bigger dead fish .
This sharks often has parasitic amphipods on their necks . Other sharks that are regularly spotted in the Stavanger area are Black-mouthed Dogfish (Galeus melastomus ) and Spurdog (Squalus acanthias ).