One of the most poorly studied species of sharks is considered to be the scapanorhynchus or goblin shark (lat. Mitsukurina owstoni). This unique representative of the class of cartilaginous fish belongs to the order Lamniformes and the family Scapanorhynchidae. Scientists really know very little about this creature, which has such a bizarre appearance.

Goblin Shark: appearance

Yours unusual name The goblin shark, or as it is also called the goblin shark, received this name because of its extremely exotic appearance: its muzzle is decorated with a long beak-like outgrowth, and its long jaws extend far forward. Its color is also unusual, it has a pinkish tint, made up of blood vessels visible through the translucent skin. Only living specimens of these deep-sea sharks have this color; after death, their color changes and becomes brown.

To date, people have managed to register only 45 meetings with representatives of this species.

Male goblin sharks have a body length from 2 m 40 cm to 3 meters 70 cm, and females from 3 m 10 cm to 3 m 50 cm. The largest individual reached a length of 3.8 meters and weighed 210 kilograms.

The goblin shark has a spindle-shaped body, and the fins have a rounded shape, very unusual for sharks; its anal and pelvic fins are very well developed and exceed the dorsal fin in size. As for the upper lobe of the heterocercal caudal fin, it is highly developed and very reminiscent of the tail of fox sharks, and the lower lobe is completely absent.


So these sharks have very mobile jaws that can be easily extended, they easily catch their prey and cope well with crustaceans and mollusks. They. Just like all sharks, they capture prey with their front teeth and chew them with their back teeth.

The goblin shark catches its prey by thrusting its jaws forward and drawing in water along with the victim. Thanks to its protrusion on the nose with a large number of electrosensitive cells, Scapanorhynchus finds prey in deep-sea darkness.

In this species of shark, the liver reaches very large sizes- 25% of body weight. Scientists have suggested that these fish are ovoviviparous.

This shark was first discovered in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea, Jordan) in 1898. At first, scientists mistook her for a prehistoric Scapanorhynchus shark from the Cretaceous period that had survived in some strange way.


Habitat

The goblin shark lives at depths of over 200 meters, its habitat extends from Australian waters Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico Atlantic. Its diet consists of deep-sea fish, squid and crabs. It is noteworthy that the Pacific scapanorhynchus differs from its Atlantic counterparts in its more impressive size. The maximum depth at which this shark was caught was 1300 meters. Most of them were caught off the coast of Japan.

Unfortunately, scientists do not know whether this rare shark species is endangered because they do not have enough information about this amazing fish. It is extremely difficult to observe this species because its representatives live at great depths. Most often they were found at depths of 270 and 960 meters, but several specimens were found at a depth of 1300 meters. At the goblin shark's natural environment no enemies.

The jaws of this shark are highly prized among collectors. One such shark was caught by fishermen off the coast of Japan and kept at the University of Tokyo, but lived in captivity for only one week. Like any other species of shark larger than 80 cm, the goblin shark poses a potential danger to humans, but given that this rare species lives on great depths, the chances of meeting her are virtually zero.

The goblin shark is one of the most amazing representatives of its kind. She has a terrifying appearance, which is why she various sources it is called brownie, rhinoceros, scapanorhynchus. She was given similar names for her long nose, elongated jaws and long but thin teeth. It is called goblin in America, and brownie and rhinoceros in Russia. A description of this representative of the ichthyofauna, photos and its habitat are presented in the article.

Where does he live?

The goblin shark, known to the public from numerous photographs on the Internet, prefers to swim at a depth of approximately 300-1300 meters. However, it can live even closer to the seabed. This is evidenced by various finds. For example, once a tooth of this type was discovered in a telephone cable at a depth of 1350 meters. sea ​​creature.

You can meet this type of shark in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Here the currents are moderate and warm, which suits this predator. In addition, the goblin shark can swim to the shores of Africa and California, but this happens much less frequently. The above places are the most popular places where the goblin is found. However, this does not mean that this fish does not swim anywhere else. In fact, it can be found in almost all seas of the world.

Story

For the first time, a representative of this species was discovered off the coast of Japan. This happened at the end of the 19th century, in 1898. David Starr Jordan caught and described the first shark, and within a few years the species was partially studied by scientists. The official name of the fish was given in honor of a scientist from Japan. The zoologist's name is Kakichi Mitsukuri. It was he who brought a specimen valuable for research to Jordan.

Description

The goblin shark has a very terrifying appearance, which is why it got its name. Its caudal fin is quite long, while its pectoral fins are relatively short. The color of the sea creature is also unusual - reddish. This is normal for this shark, because it naturally has translucent skin. Blood vessels are visible through it, which is why it seems that the skin of this predator is red.

The most striking and memorable feature of the shark’s appearance is its huge nose, which is a long beak-shaped outgrowth. It contains a large number of cells called electrosensitive. With their help, the shark searches for prey at great depths.

Interestingly, "goblin" is a translation of the word tenguzame from Japanese language. In Japanese folklore, such a character as the goblin is known. He had a long nose, which is why he looked like this shark. Based on the description of the fish, it can be assumed that this species appeared recently, since there is no evidence that it evolved over thousands of years. Sharks of this species do not even have special protective eyelids.

Dimensions

The goblin shark, the photo of which is presented in this article, is not very large. It rarely exceeds 3.5 meters in length. Weight in most cases is about 100 kilograms. However, this does not mean that larger individuals do not occur. One of the sharks found was 3.84 meters long. And the weight was more than two hundred kilograms, to be more precise - 210.

Jaws and hunting

The goblin shark has powerful jaws with long and very sharp teeth. There are 50 of them in total. The jaws consist of several rows of huge teeth. There are 26 teeth on the top one, and a little less on the bottom - 24. The shark hunts with the help of especially sensitive organs, since it has poor eyesight and sees almost nothing at depth, because almost no light penetrates there.

The hunting mechanism is as follows: as soon as the shark finds the prey, it suddenly sticks out its jaws. To do this, she uses a special muscle that allows her to do this very quickly - literally in a split second. She grabs the victim she finds with lightning speed using her front teeth - the sharpest. The shark needs dorsal teeth to crack the shells of crustaceans and various mollusks.

Nutrition

The shark's diet is quite varied. Yes, it includes big number types of fish. The goblin does not mind eating squid, cuttlefish, octopus or crustaceans, which it finds at great depths. In fact, the shark is not too picky: it likes to eat a lot, so it often does not disdain small sea inhabitants. It is known that this fish can feed on its own kind, that is, other sharks.

The fish we are considering - the goblin shark - is a rather rare representative of the ichthyofauna. That is why it has been little studied, and the facts about it may surprise many people.

  • 25% of a fish’s body weight comes from an organ such as the liver. Why is that? The fact is that a shark does not have a swim bladder. Its function is performed by the liver. If this organ were smaller, the fish would have difficulty swimming at great depths.
  • The goblin shark (also found there) is considered ovoviviparous. However, this fact has not been officially confirmed, since it is quite rare variety.
  • Only 45 representatives of this species are described in the scientific literature.

  • Fish has no commercial significance.
  • Externally, the shark is similar to ancient species that have long disappeared.
  • Because of its ugly muzzle, the fish is often compared to representatives of an alien civilization.
  • The shark does not pose a great danger to humans, since it is impossible to get to the depths where it lives without preparation and special equipment very difficult.
  • Many people ask the question: "How to get a goblin shark as a trophy?" The fact is that her jaws are a very valuable trophy. So, it is very difficult to kill this fish. And not even because of its size and huge jaw, but because it is rare. It may be an endangered species and should not be hunted.

The goblin shark belongs to the Scapanorhynchidae family and is its only representative. This is a deep-sea shark with a rather peculiar appearance, due to which it is also called the goblin shark. Lives at a depth of more than 200 meters in temperate and warm waters in 3 oceans. This species has been known since 1897, when the first shark was caught near Japan. Representatives of the species were also caught in the Gulf of Mexico, off the southern coast of Brazil, off the coast of France, Portugal, South Africa, Mozambique, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, California, Sri Lanka.

Most often, goblin sharks are found at a depth of 270-960 meters. The tooth of this cartilaginous fish was discovered in the insulation of an underwater cable at a depth of 1370 meters. And the maximum fishing depth is 1300 meters. At the same time, mature fish live at greater depths than young ones. The latter mainly live in the water column of 100-350 meters, and are found at a depth of 40 meters. Only a few dozen goblin sharks are known to science. They were either caught or thrown ashore.

Description

The muzzle is long and flat, shaped like a sword blade. The eyes are small without protective urinary membranes. The mouth is large and has a parabolic shape. There are 35-52 upper and 31-63 lower rows of teeth. In the front of the jaw they are long and narrow, and on the sides they are small and flattened to crush food and shells. There are 5 pairs of gill slits. The body is relatively thin.

There are 2 small dorsal fins of a rounded shape, which is not typical for sharks. The pectoral fins are also rounded. The anal and pelvic fins are larger than the dorsal fins. The caudal fin has a long upper lobe, and the lower one is almost undeveloped. The skin is translucent, pinkish, as blood vessels are visible through it. With age, the transparency of the skin increases, and the waters of young sharks are almost white. After death, the color of the body becomes brown or dull gray. The fins are characterized by a bluish tint.

The length of the goblin shark reaches 3-4 meters. In 2000, a female was caught whose length was 5.4 meters. Hence there is an assumption that representatives of the species can grow to very large sizes. The maximum registered weight is 210 kg with a length of 3.8 meters. In general, females are slightly larger than males.

Reproduction

Very little is known about the reproduction of representatives of the species. Most likely these sharks are viviparous. Embryos grow during pregnancy, and at birth the size reaches 80 cm. Males become sexually mature at a body length of 2.6 meters. And the maturation size of females is unknown. There are no data on growth, aging and life expectancy.

Behavior and nutrition

The structure of the goblin shark suggests an inactive and even sluggish lifestyle. The muscles are poorly developed, and the fins are soft and small. A long caudal fin indicates a slow movement speed. The snout is soft, so it cannot be used to catch prey at the bottom. Vision plays a small role in obtaining food.

The diet consists of bony fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Feeding occurs mainly near the seabed. The goblin shark can hardly be called an ambush predator. She drifts in the water column and at the same time makes a minimum of movements. When the prey is nearby, the jaws move forward and grab it, or water is sucked into the mouth along with the victim.

Conservation status

This species lives at great depths, so it is not dangerous to humans. The brownie shark has the status of least dangerous, as it does not represent any commercial value. The threat to it lies in pollution environment. It can also be accidentally caught while fishing. In 2003, about 100 representatives of the species were caught near Taiwan. An explanation for this was not found, but experts suggested that the cause was an underwater earthquake.

The lifestyle of deep-sea fish is shrouded in mystery, and their appearance often evokes not entirely pleasant emotions. Among the unusual inhabitants depths of the sea Of great interest is the goblin shark, which, due to the unusual structure of its muzzle, is sometimes called a goblin (from the English name goblin shark). This species is currently the only surviving member of the Scapanorhynchus shark family. Wikipedia claims that the families Scapanorhynchidae (goblin sharks) are closely related, since they belong to the same order - Lamniformes. But they are very different from each other in appearance and lifestyle.

Watch the video to compare the above photos of the goblin shark with the common sandy shark you see in the video.

What do scientists know about deep-sea sharks?

The deep-sea shark is a representative of an ancient family, of which only one genus and a single species has survived to this day. Its scientific name is Mitsukurina owstoni, and thanks to this this shark sometimes called mitsecurina. No fossil remains of this species have been found, but remains of related species are known, found in layers that are approximately 70 million years old.

The first specimen of a deep-sea goblin shark was caught off the Japanese coast relatively recently (1897): it was an adult. A scientific description of this species was made a year later. To date, scientists know only 45 individuals of Mitsekurina, some of which were found on the shore (dead specimens), some were caught at sea (living specimens).

Distribution, lifestyle and reproduction

The largest number of goblin sharks (remember, there is another name for this cartilaginous fish with a strange appearance) was caught off the Japanese Islands. But their habitat area is quite vast and covers the warm and temperate waters of three oceans:

  • in the western and eastern parts of the Pacific Ocean: off the Japanese, Australian and New Zealand coasts; near southern California (North America);
  • in the western and eastern Atlantic: Guyana, Suriname, Bay of Biscay; waters of Southern, Northern and Western Africa;
  • western regions Indian Ocean.

The goblin shark lives in deep waters (below 200 meters). The depth of 1300 m is currently the maximum where traces of this species have been found. It was at this depth of the Indian Ocean that a telegraph cable lay at the bottom, in which a break occurred. After lifting the cable to the surface, they found a brownie shark tooth stuck in it. The cause of the damage to the cable was determined to be this shark, which probably suddenly decided to chew on the cable. Very rarely, this deep-sea shark has been seen in shallow waters near the coastline.

Very little is known about the goblin shark's lifestyle. Scientists suggest, and this is a generally accepted opinion, that they lead a solitary lifestyle. Large aggregations or schools of these cartilaginous fish never form.

Food and enemies

The goblin shark is a typical predator, having the appropriate structure of the jaws and teeth. Its mouth is filled with two types of teeth:

  • The front teeth are long and sharp, with smooth edges; and they are used for catching fish.
  • The back of the jaws is lined with blunt teeth, which enable the shark to crush mollusk shells or crustacean shells.

Movable jaws complete the “portrait” of this deep-sea predator, which, almost like a mouth, extend outward. In this way, the jaws lengthen, which helps to grab prey with sharp front teeth, then the caught fish, along with the flow of water, is drawn into the cavity of the goblin shark.


Search for prey and diet

At great depths where the goblin shark lives, it is very dark, so vision is not an aid in detecting prey. Located in large numbers on the long process of the nose, electrosensitive cells serve to capture the electrical fields of passing fish, and help determine their location and thus easily find food.

The goblin shark feeds on deep-sea creatures. Scientists can only assume that the diet consists of fish, squid, shellfish and crabs. It is currently impossible to determine absolutely exactly what these sharks catch in the deep-sea darkness. All specimens of these sharks that fell into the hands of scientists for study had empty stomachs. Probably, during the rise of the fish from the depths, pressure changes contributed to the emptying of the stomach.

It is difficult to say whether the goblin shark has enemies in its natural environment. Scientists suggest that there are no animals that can greatly influence the population of this unusual shark.

The unique structure of a deep sea shark

The strange structure of the head of this “sea goblin” was the reason for its name. On the muzzle above the mouth there is a long growth directed forward. From above, this outgrowth resembles a sharpened blade, and as mentioned above, its entire surface is lined with electrosensitive cells that help in searching for prey. The retractable mouth becomes like a beak, lined with sharp teeth.

The brownie shark can reach impressive sizes (up to 4 meters), but usually their length is in the range of 240-350 centimeters. The body has a spindle-shaped shape.

The fins have features atypical for sharks:

  • all fins are rounded at the ends;
  • dorsal – small in size; and well-developed paired abdominal and anal ones are larger;
  • the caudal fin is unique in that only the upper blade is developed, and the lower one is not present at all; therefore, its shape resembles the tail of a fox shark;

Scapanorhynchus sharks (goblin sharks) have a very large liver. Its weight is approximately a quarter of that of total weight fish.

Unusual color of body and eyes

The color that distinguishes the deep-sea shark from its other “class brothers” is also unusual. Living individuals have a pinkish color due to translucent skin through which blood vessels are visible. Dead specimens turn brown. And the fins of “sea” goblins have a bluish tint.

The eyes of these sharks small size and do not have a third eyelid. They are characterized by the ability to glow with a greenish light, which should be quite a spectacular sight in the dark water. With their greenish eye color they are a bit reminiscent of other cartilaginous fish), which can also be found at very great depths.

Sea goblin and man

The goblin shark does not belong to commercial species sharks But her unique jaws are of great value to collectors around the world, who are willing to pay huge sums of money for them.

There is information that one individual, being caught alive, was kept in an aquarium in Japan (at the University of Tokyo). In captivity, she was able to live only seven days.

Due to little knowledge and the impossibility of calculating the real number of this species, the goblin shark is listed in the International Red Book as a rare species that has been poorly studied. There is no information about the reproduction of these cartilaginous fish, except mysterious fact: all individuals known to scientists (caught or found on the shore) were males.

Other names for goblin shark - goblin shark, rhino shark or Scapanorhynchus. It is noteworthy that this shark in the Soviet scientific world bore the name of the goblin shark, because the word "goblin" was not widely used in the USSR.

Very little is known about this shark. It lives in deep layers of water, below 200 m, and has been known to man for just over 100 years. But judging by the few finds, it can be assumed that the goblin shark population is not large. Therefore, it is highly valued among collectors, where its jaws are of particular value. They are somewhat unique among sharks: agile and able to extend outwards. The front teeth on the jaw are sharp and long, and the back teeth are adapted for grinding hard materials - bones and shells.


The shark's diet includes not only fish, of which there are not many at great depths, but also crabs, mollusks and crustaceans. Strong jaws and sharp teeth allow them to split even the hard shells of prey. When hunting, the goblin shark sucks in water, sharply opening its mouth. Along with the water, the prey ends up in the teeth.

The characteristic hump of the goblin shark serves as its unique locator in pitch darkness. It contains a large number of nerve endings that allow one to notice the approach of a potential victim.

The size of the goblin shark is not impressive, like others deep sea inhabitants. Average length adult is 1 m, although cases of catching specimens over 3 m have been recorded. According to unconfirmed data, individuals 5 m in length have been encountered, but if such a fact took place, then such a size is anomalous and rare.

The potential danger of the goblin shark to humans exists. However, a meeting with a deep dweller is extremely insignificant to take into account. Although it is common in the warm and temperate waters of the world's oceans, favored by divers, the habitat of the goblin shark, as already mentioned, begins deeper than 200 m. Therefore, even a professional diver will not be able to encounter a shark in its typical place.