An ugly creature
Goblin sharks are a rare, out-of-this-world-looking ugly creature -- much like an evolutionary design gone wrong.
These sharks can grow up to 3.9 meters and have a soft, flabby body. Their front teeth are long and pointy and progressively get shorter.
Although their pinkish-gray body, which is the result of blood vessels being visible under semitransparent skin, may appear to be their most defining feature, it's not.
Bizarre sea creature
The goblin shark's defining features are its snout that resembles a shovel and retractable mouth that can move forward under the snout or move backward under the eyes which are small.
The mouth extension is perhaps a necessity for this shark to get food past its long snout and into its mouth.
When the mouth is retracted, the shark doesn't look too weird, but watch how the mouth extends in the video on the right to see what makes a goblin shark a bizarre sea creature.
What do goblin sharks eat?
Goblin sharks live in deep marine waters, where no sunlight reaches. This means they have to rely on their senses -- notably ampullae of Lorenzini, which are organs that detect electricity and are found on the snout.
As you saw in the video, goblin shark jaws snap forward quick and act like a vice to consume deep sea fishes, shrimps, pelagic octopus, fish, squid, and possibly crabs.
Where do goblin sharks live?
Little is known about the goblin shark because it is a deepwater creature found near sea floors to depths of 1200 meters.
These creatures are usually caught as bycatch from deepwater fisheries that use trawl, longlines, and deep-set gill nets. Catches are rare. Only one live goblin shark has been displayed in an aquarium, which was at Tokai University, Shimizu, Japan. The shark lived for about a week.
Rarely found inshore in shallow water, goblin sharks are typically located on the outer continental shelves and the upper slopes in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean -- notably off the coasts of Guyana; Surinam; French Guyana; France; Madeira; Senegal; Portugal; Gulf of Guinea; South Africa; Japan; Taiwain; Australia; New Zealand; Mozambique; California; northern Gulf of Mexico south of Pascagoula, Mississippi
Despite little information about these sharks because of their rarity to surface, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species gives this ugly creature a "Least Concern" rating because it's thought to be widespread -- just rare to surface.
How do goblin sharks reproduce?
Goblin shark reproduction is a mystery. Because they are members of the order Lamniformes, who are ovoviviparous, goblin sharks are thought to exhibit the same reproduction method, but no pregnant goblin sharks have been found.
How did the goblin shark get its name?
The goblin shark's scientific name is Mitsukurina owstoni. The name is in honor of 19th century men Kakichi Mitsukuri and Alan Owston, who contributed to the shark's discovery
An ugly creature
Goblin sharks are a rare, out-of-this-world-looking ugly creature -- much like an evolutionary design gone wrong.
These sharks can grow up to 3.9 meters and have a soft, flabby body. Their front teeth are long and pointy and progressively get shorter.
Although their pinkish-gray body, which is the result of blood vessels being visible under semitransparent skin, may appear to be their most defining feature, it's not.
Bizarre sea creature
The goblin shark's defining features are its snout that resembles a shovel and retractable mouth that can move forward under the snout or move backward under the eyes which are small.
The mouth extension is perhaps a necessity for this shark to get food past its long snout and into its mouth.
When the mouth is retracted, the shark doesn't look too weird, but watch how the mouth extends in the video on the right to see what makes a goblin shark a bizarre sea creature.
What do goblin sharks eat?
Goblin sharks live in deep marine waters, where no sunlight reaches. This means they have to rely on their senses -- notably ampullae of Lorenzini, which are organs that detect electricity and are found on the snout.
As you saw in the video, goblin shark jaws snap forward quick and act like a vice to consume deep sea fishes, shrimps, pelagic octopus, fish, squid, and possibly crabs.
Where do goblin sharks live?
Little is known about the goblin shark because it is a deepwater creature found near sea floors to depths of 1200 meters.
These creatures are usually caught as bycatch from deepwater fisheries that use trawl, longlines, and deep-set gill nets. Catches are rare. Only one live goblin shark has been displayed in an aquarium, which was at Tokai University, Shimizu, Japan. The shark lived for about a week.
Rarely found inshore in shallow water, goblin sharks are typically located on the outer continental shelves and the upper slopes in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean -- notably off the coasts of Guyana; Surinam; French Guyana; France; Madeira; Senegal; Portugal; Gulf of Guinea; South Africa; Japan; Taiwain; Australia; New Zealand; Mozambique; California; northern Gulf of Mexico south of Pascagoula, Mississippi
Despite little information about these sharks because of their rarity to surface, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species gives this ugly creature a "Least Concern" rating because it's thought to be widespread -- just rare to surface.
How do goblin sharks reproduce?
Goblin shark reproduction is a mystery. Because they are members of the order Lamniformes, who are ovoviviparous, goblin sharks are thought to exhibit the same reproduction method, but no pregnant goblin sharks have been found.
How did the goblin shark get its name?
The goblin shark's scientific name is Mitsukurina owstoni. The name is in honor of 19th century men Kakichi Mitsukuri and Alan Owston, who contributed to the shark's discovery
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