Oceanic whitetip shark cookies: Evidence of multiple predation events by an opportunistic mesopelagic predator on a large epipelagic shark.

ABSTRACT

In June 2024, a large female oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) was observed near San Andres Island, Colombia, bearing at least 41 healed circular scars on its skin. These scars, resembling those left by cookiecutter sharks on large teleost species, suggest repeated predation events. Cookiecutter sharks typically leave one or two bite marks per prey item, with a small percentage showing five or more marks. The observation implies frequent depth overlap between the mesopelagic cookiecutter sharks and the epipelagic oceanic whitetip shark in the Caribbean Sea.