An extremely rare goblin shark spotted off the coast of Australia is giving scientists a chance to study the mysterious creature described as an "alien of the deep," researchers told the Agence France-Presse on Tuesday.
Not much is known about the horrifying goblin shark, which has a protruding snout above rows of mini dagger-like teeth and lives in the depths of the ocean. So when it was spotted off southeastern Australia near Eden in January, scientists jumped at the research opportunity and had it transported to a museum in Sydney.
The fisherman who found the shark, officially named Mitsukurina owston, initially delivered it to a local aquarium but it died on the way and was later sent to the Australian Museum, AFP reported.
"It's pretty impressive, it's not hideous it's beautiful," said Mark McGrouther, the museum's fish collection manager.
"They are not caught terribly often. They are not encountered terribly often at all."
Goblin sharks are believed to have been around for at least 125 million years. The pink creature has managed to remain elusive, so any sighting tends to make national news. Scientists were disappointed when fishermen who unknowingly caught one in the Gulf of Mexico last May let it go.
It was the second time the shark was spotted in the area.
Even more bizarre about the goblin shark is its feeding mechanism. It catches prey by jutting its jaw out from beneath its pointy snout.
"It will be sweeping over the bottom and when it detects a small fish, or a crab or a squid it will shoot those jaws out 'wham' and capture whatever it is," McGrouther told AFP.
"It will spear it with those sharp pointed teeth and then just wolf it down whole."
The museum, which already has three goblin sharks, will preserve the latest edition for future studies.
