<p><strong>A <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/sharks/">shark</a> has been caught on camera making a meal of another shark along Australia's <a href="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/great-barrier-reef/holland-text.html">Great Barrier Reef</a>. Released earlier this month, the pictures show a tasseled wobbegong halfway through swallowing a brownbanded bamboo shark.</strong></p> <p>Daniela Ceccarelli and David Williamson, from <a href="http://www.coralcoe.org.au/">Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a>, chanced on the spectacle while conducting a fish census on the fringing reef off Great Keppel Island.</p> <p>"The first thing that caught my eye was the almost translucent white of the bamboo shark," Ceccarelli said in an email. Expecting to find the front part of the bamboo shark hidden under a coral ledge, Ceccarelli swam closer—and the highly camouflaged wobbegong materialized.</p> <p>"It became clear that the head of the bamboo shark was hidden in its mouth," she said. "The bamboo shark was motionless and definitely dead." (Also see <a href="http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/photos/your-shark-photos/">shark pictures by <em>National Geographic</em> fans</a>.)</p> <p>Previous analyses of the shark species' stomach contents had shown that wobbegongs do eat other sharks. (Related <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/pictures/110404-sharks-lionfish-alien-fish-invasive-species-science/">pictures: "Sharks Taught to Hunt Alien Lionfish."</a>)</p> <p>"I doubt that this is the first time such a thing has been seen," said Ceccarelli, who added that she does think this is the first published photograph of a wobbegong swallowing another shark.</p> <p><em>—Helen Scales</em></p>

Munching on Bamboo (Shark)

A shark has been caught on camera making a meal of another shark along Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Released earlier this month, the pictures show a tasseled wobbegong halfway through swallowing a brownbanded bamboo shark.

Daniela Ceccarelli and David Williamson, from Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, chanced on the spectacle while conducting a fish census on the fringing reef off Great Keppel Island.

"The first thing that caught my eye was the almost translucent white of the bamboo shark," Ceccarelli said in an email. Expecting to find the front part of the bamboo shark hidden under a coral ledge, Ceccarelli swam closer—and the highly camouflaged wobbegong materialized.

"It became clear that the head of the bamboo shark was hidden in its mouth," she said. "The bamboo shark was motionless and definitely dead." (Also see shark pictures by National Geographic fans.)

Previous analyses of the shark species' stomach contents had shown that wobbegongs do eat other sharks. (Related pictures: "Sharks Taught to Hunt Alien Lionfish.")

"I doubt that this is the first time such a thing has been seen," said Ceccarelli, who added that she does think this is the first published photograph of a wobbegong swallowing another shark.

—Helen Scales

Photograph courtesy Tom Mannering

Pictures: Shark Swallows Another Shark Whole

Divers on Australia's Great Barrier Reef recently snapped rare pictures of a wobbegong, or carpet shark, swallowing a bamboo shark whole.

Read This Next

What made megalodon such a terrifying predator?
Why did these shark hunters bury their dead with extra limbs?
An unprecedented mission for 500 baby sharks

Go Further

Subscriber Exclusive Content

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet

Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars?

How viruses shape our world

The era of greyhound racing in the U.S. is coming to an end

See how people have imagined life on Mars through history

See how NASA’s new Mars rover will explore the red planet