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| Lunchtime: Australian researchers snapped this extraordinary sight in August while they were carrying out a census of fish off Great Keppel Island off the Great Barrier Reef |
You would think being shark you wouldn't have to watch your back.
As the sea's ultimate predator the fearsome creatures patrol the ocean safe in the knowledge that they rule the waves.
But now it seems sharks shouldn't swim so easy as their bigger, hungrier cousins might view them as a tasty snack.
This is believed to be the first time scientists have ever photographed a shark eating another shark.
Australian researchers snapped the extraordinary sight in August last year while they were carrying out a census of fish off Great Keppel Island off the Great Barrier Reef.
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| Tasty: The photo shows a type of carpet shark called a tasselled wobbegong, munching on a brown-banded bamboo shark head first, thanks to its remarkable ability to dislocate its jaw |
The photo shows a type of carpet shark called a tasselled wobbegong, munching on a brown-banded bamboo shark head first, thanks to its remarkable ability to dislocate its jaw.
The experts, from the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, knew sharks ate other sharks after discovering remains in the stomachs of carpet sharks, but it is the first time the process has been photographed in action.
They estimate it would have taken the carpet shark several hours to finish its fishy banquet.
Carpet sharks look flat and have carpet-like patterns on their bodies. They spend much of their time lying on the ocean bed waiting for passing food.
Usually they like to feast on small fish or invertebrates, website io9.com said.
Researchers wrote in the Coral Reef journal: 'During the 30-min observation period, neither shark moved position and the wobbegong did not further ingest the bamboo shark.
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