A fisherman near Tokyo, Japan, recently reported seeing a strange sea creature. It looked like a 5-foot-long eel with a bulbous head and a large mouth full of spiky teeth. Was it a dinosaur? A monster? The fisherman called scientists at a nearby marine park to come take a look.
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The frilled shark swims in a tank at a Japanese marine park, after being spotted by a fisherman. |
He had, in fact, found something extraordinary. The park staff caught the animal and brought it to a seawater pool. There, they studied and filmed it. Eventually, they identified the creature as a female frilled shark—named for the six gill slits on the side of its head. Frilled sharks are almost never seen alive. However, dead specimens are occasionally caught in commercial fishing nets.
'Living Fossils'
Until the 19th century, scientists thought the frilled shark was an extinct prehistoric species. It certainly looks prehistoric! Today, the creature is sometimes called a "living fossil," because it is a primitive species that has changed little since the time of the dinosaurs.
Frilled sharks live deep in the ocean. Their habitat is about 2,000 to 3,000 feet under the water. That's deeper than humans can go, except in underwater exploration machines called submersibles. (For comparison, the deepest recorded dive by a scuba diver is 475 feet.) Very little sunlight reaches the frilled shark's habitat, and the waters are murky and cold. Plants do not grow there. The sharks feed on other species of sharks, squids, and bony fish.
People know very little about animals that live deep undersea. Just a year ago, Japanese scientists filmed a giant squid for the first time. Like the frilled shark, giant squid live so deep in the ocean that they have never been studied in the wild. For centuries, giant squid were thought to be mythological monsters. Now scientists know that the deep sea is home to many species of fantastic and strange-looking animals. No doubt, there are countless species yet to be discovered.
In Japan, the scientists at the marine park weren't sure why this frilled shark came up from the deep. "We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," said a park official.
A few hours after its capture, the frilled shark died. It had wandered far from its dark home, but its brief visit shed light on a little known world.
A giant squid measuring just over 28 feet long is displayed at the Natural History Museum in London.
Getty Images
Getty Images
Think About It!
Why is it important to find a living sample of a little known animal?
- See a video of the frilled shark swimming.
- For more information on sharks visit:
Shark Quiz
Test your shark smarts in this quiz about sharks!
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