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Physiology
Pacific angel sharks are easily mistaken for their cousins - skates and rays - since they have such flat bodies, in addition to flat, side fins. However, they're different from stingrays and manta rays in several distinctive ways. An angel shark's front pectoral fins, for instance, while flat, are attached to the side of its body. On the other hand, a stingray's pectoral fins begin at the sides of its head. Furthermore, whereas a stingray's gill slits are on its underside, an angel shark's gills curl around the sides of its head.
Hunting
Another way angel sharks are similar to rays is in their method of catching prey. The angel shark's black, gray and brown color allows it to stay camouflaged by burying itself in the sand. Then, when small fish or mollusks swim by, the angel shark thrusts itself up and strikes with its large mouth. An angel shark spends almost its entire day buried in the sand, waiting for prey.
Gills
The fact that angel sharks spend so much of their time buried in sand contradicts the popular misconception that all sharks have to keep swimming to survive. While many sharks do in fact have to keep water moving over their gill slits to breathe, the angel shark has a different method. Like some other bottom dwellers, angel sharks have muscles that can pull water past its gills through spiracles in its head, all the while remaining stationary.
Protection
Angel sharks faced a rapid population decline between the years of 1977 and 1984, reports the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This decline went hand-in-hand with their rise in culinary popularity that was instigated by a Santa Barbara, California, fish processor who promoted large fishing of the sharks. Today, there are limits on angel shark fishing. As a result, angel shark populations are recovering in the Pacific Ocean.