Prehistoric Shark Caught

Shrimp fisherman at Key West, Florida, accidentally caught themselves a Goblin Shark recently. Goblin sharks are a prehistoric species which haven't been seen in over 10 years! The species can be found all over the world but is believed to mainly live around Japan which makes this catch so rare! The fisherman took a few pictures and released the thrashing shark back into the ocean where it could dive back to its home, over 200m below water, and only reported their findings to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2 days ago.

So what does a Goblin Shark look like?

The Goblin Shark, razor teeth and a extendable jaw

This species is huge. The one caught was 18ft long and they have unusual pink skin. In the deep water, where the animals live, only red light is visible. At those depths the species will actually appear black to the eye. The head of the shark has a very large snout, like a sword, which allow it to detect minute electrical fields and catch prey quickly with its extending jaw  and large razor sharp teeth. Their bodies also appear fairly flabby and they have smaller dorsal and ventral fins compared to those of other shark species. This means that these sharks are not able to move as quickly as some other species.


To read more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin_shark
http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1656/1528-7092%282002%29001%5B0189%3AFROTGS%5D2.0.CO%3B2
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2619301/Thats-no-shrimp-Florida-shrimp-fishermen-accidentally-net-second-prehistoric-goblin-shark-thats-18-FEET-LONG-pink-pointy-teeth.html