Another Prehistoric Shark Surfaces

Remember last month when a frilled shark, essentially unchanged since prehistoric times and rarely seen by humans because they live up to thousands of feet below the ocean's surface, surfaced and was filmed at at Japan's Awashima Marine Park before she died?

Well, another "prehistoric" shark surfaced in Tokyo Bay, and it quickly succumbed as well.

A rare goblin shark—a "living fossil" that closely resembles ancient shark species—was caught alive recently in Tokyo Bay, only to die within days.

Officials from the Tokyo Sea Life Park discovered the 4.3-foot-long (1.3-meter-long) creature on January 25 during an expedition with local fisherman. The shark had been tangled in fishing nets 500 to 650 feet (150 to 200 meters) deep.

But the animal died on the morning of January 27 after being put on display for the public.

Little is known about the mysterious goblin shark, which normally stays near the bottom of the ocean.

"Dead goblin sharks are caught from time to time, but it is rarely seen alive," a park official told the AFP news agency. "We were able to document the way the shark swims. After it died, we dissected the specimen for further studies."

Here's a good snapshot from National Geographic:



H/T BlondeSense.