Goblin Shark
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| Goblin Shark | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Mitsukurina owstoni Jordan, 1898 |
The Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rarely seen species of shark. It is notable for its long beak projecting forward of the jaws, the ability of its jaws to protrude greatly, and for its pink color. The Goblin Shark is the sole known living member of the family Mitsukurinidae; the relatively plentiful fossil record includes another two dozen or so species.
The front teeth are long and smooth-edged, while the rear teeth are adapted for crushing. Goblin Sharks feed on jacopever, octopuses and crabs, most likely by sensing the presence of prey with electro-sensitive organs in the beak, suddenly protruding the jaws, creating a sucking motion with a tongue-like muscle, and using the teeth to hold onto the victim.
The pink coloration, unique among sharks, is due to blood vessels underneath a semi-transparent skin, which bruises easily, thereby causing the coloring. The fins have a bluish appearance. As with Thresher Sharks and other members of the order Lamniformes, the upper lobe of the tail is much longer than the lower lobe.
Only about 45 specimens have been described in the scientific literature. They generally live at a depth of up to 1200 m, at the sea bottom. Half have been found off Japan, including the first one described (Jordan, 1898). The largest seen so far was 385 cm (12.6 ft) in length. Several are preserved at the Australian Museum.
External links
- FishBase info for goblin shark (http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?id=5910)
- Elasmo Research page on goblin sharks (http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/shark_profiles/mitsukurinidae.htm)
- Mikko's phylogeny page, listing fossil Mitsukurinidae (http://www.fmnh.helsinki.fi/users/haaramo/Metazoa/Deuterostoma/Chordata/Chondrichthyes/Elasmobranchii/Lamniformes/Mitsukurinidae.htm)
| Shark articles | |
|---|---|
| Angel | Basking | Blacktip Reef | Blue | Bull | Carpet | Cat | Cookiecutter | Freshwater | Frilled | Goblin | Gray Reef | Grey Nurse | Great White | Hammerhead | Mako | Megamouth | Nurse | Oceanic Whitetip | Porbeagle | Requiem | River | Sand | Sandbar | Saw | Silky | Sleeper | Smooth dogfish | Thresher | Tiger | Whale (shark) | Whitetip reef | Wobbegong | Zebra / Leopard | |
| Extinct shark species | |
| Megalodon | Cladoselache | Squalicorax |