Aloha everyone! With Shark Week having come and gone for this year, we wanted to share some educational information about one really weird and cool shark, the goblin shark. The goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, can be found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans (Compagno, 2001). As you may have guessed, goblin sharks are a bit bizarre-looking, and they have a long paddle-shaped nose (Compagno, 2001), and the sighting of one of these sharks would certainly give you a fright (Figure 1).
If the image of the goblin shark is a bit unsettling and has you concerned about jumping in the ocean, you will be happy to know that you are unlikely to encounter one unless you are near Japan. Approximately 80% of all collected goblin sharks have been taken from Japanese waters (Rincon et al. 2012). Additionally goblin sharks are known as a deep-water species and are generally found between 200 to 1000 meters – that 650 ft to 3280 ft deep (Yano, 2003). Based on their mouth full of razor sharp teeth, it is probably a good thing you are unlikely to encounter them in the water (Figure 2).
Now you may be wondering what such a bizarre looking shark has to do with The Callie Mae Sea Foundation and marine conservation in general. The goblin shark is actually listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. While the goblin shark is categorized as least concern, there is still a lot to learn about the population biology and ecology of these unique sharks. Here at the Callie Mae Sea Foundation we are all about promoting marine conservation, from microscopic organisms to cool, scary creatures like goblin sharks!
Here is an exciting video by National Geographic sharing more information about these incredible sharks:
Thanks for reading this article and if you would like to learn more about these awesome sharks please check out the links below:
Sharks of the World : an annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date.
Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists