Goblin shark is a type of fish that lives at the bottom of the ocean along continental shelves, which are the edges of continents. This pink animal can get up to 12 feet long and 460 pounds heavy. They have small faces and teeth that look like fangs. They are mostly seen off the coast of Japan and got their name because they look like goblins from Japanese folklore.
A goblin shark is swimming through the deep sea when it sees a small, tasty-looking squid. The animal moves a little closer to its prey. But as the fish gets closer, the snack begins to run away. So the shark sticks its lower jaw out three inches! (The jaw is connected to 3-inch-long flaps of skin that can open from the nose.) The predator then bites down on the squid. When it’s done eating, the shark puts its jaw back in its mouth and swims away.
All About Goblin Shark
So, you must be thinking about are goblin sharks real. The long snout (called a “rostrum”) and the teeth are the most noticeable parts of a goblin shark’s body. The rostrum is covered with special organs that help these sharks find prey in the low light of their preferred habitat by detecting the electric field created by other fish. The teeth are long and jagged, and the goblin shark is one of the few shark species whose teeth can be seen when the mouth is completely shut. In other words, goblin sharks’ mouths are too small for all of their teeth.
Facts About Goblin Shark?
- Live goblin sharks are rarely seen and almost never filmed, so most of what scientists know about them comes from when they were caught by accident while fishing for other species.
- They are active predators that eat fish, squids, and crustaceans that live in the water.
- When they hunt, they find prey below their sensitive rostrum and grab it with their jaws, which are far from their mouths.
- Eating this way makes them look less like sharks and more like something from an alien movie.
- Goblin sharks mate by fertilizing their eggs inside their bodies. They give live birth to a small number of big babies.
- Even though they have live births, these sharks don’t have a placenta that connects them to their young.
- Instead, during the gestation period, the mother probably feeds her young unfertilized eggs, which they eat to stay healthy.
- Young goblin sharks are ready to hunt as soon as they are born.
- The goblin shark is not caught for profit and is only rarely caught by accident when other species are being caught.
- Scientists think that the goblin animal is a species that doesn’t need much attention based on a recent study.
Feeding
The goblin shark mostly eats rattails and other deep-living teleosts.
Most of the time, the goblin shark eats teleost fish like rattails and dragonfishes. It also eats cephalopods, as well as crustaceans like decapods and isopods. Some of the specimens were found to have trash in their stomachs. It eats fish that live on the bottom, like the black belly rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus), and fish that live in the middle of the water, like the squid Teuthowenia pellucida and the ostracod Macrocypridina castanea rotunda, among other things. So, the goblin shark looks for food close to and far above the sea floor.
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What Does Goblin Shark Look Like?
The Goblin Shark has a shovel-shaped nose, a flabby body, and a weakly developed lower lobe on the end of its tail. One thing that makes the Goblin Shark behavior stand out is that its mouth sticks out. The mouth can move back under the eye or move forward under the nose.
Where Do Goblin Sharks Live?
Many people think are goblin sharks still alive. The species lives near the bottom of the ocean up to about 1200 m deep.
Distribution
People have caught the Goblin fish in different parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. In Australia, it has been seen off the coasts of New South Wales, Tasmania, and maybe even South Australia.
What Does Goblin Shark Eat and How Have They Adapted?
Yano and his team looked at what was in the stomachs of 121 Goblin Sharks from Tokyo Submarine Canyon. They ate fish with bones, squids, and crustaceans, among other things. When it eats, the Goblin Shark’s jaws move forward faster than those of any other shark species.
The bottom of the nose has a lot of holes. These pores are the outside openings of the organs that sense electricity, called the ampullae of Lorenzini. Most likely, the Goblin Shark finds its prey by being able to sense electric fields.
Are Goblin Sharks Dangerous?
Humans are not in danger from the Goblin Shark.
Parvaiz Yousuf is a senior SEO writer and editor with an experience of over 6 years, who also doubles up as a researcher. With an MSc zoology degree under his belt and possessing complete Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge, he works as a science journalist for a US-based website and Asian Scientist (A Singapore-based magazine). He also works as Director of Wetland Research Centre, Wildlife Conservation Fund YPJK since 2018. Besides, he has several publications to his name on cancer biology and biochemistry in some reputed journals such as Nature & International Journal of Molecular Sciences, & magazines such as Science Reporter, BUCEROS BNHS, and has an abiding interest in ornithology. He also worked as a Research Associate for JK Policy Institute.
