Angel shark

Photo: Dennis Rabeling · CC BY-NC-ND

One of Europe's most endangered elasmobranch species, the angel shark is a dorsoventrally flattened ambush predator that rests camouflaged on sandy or gravelly substrates in caves and at the base of cliffs. The Calanques represent one of the few remaining Mediterranean refugia where angel sharks are seen with any regularity, a consequence of the reserve status protecting both the sharks and their sandy-floor cave habitats from trawling and disturbance.