A goblin shark caught in waters off the Florida keys resembles and alien more than nearly any other life form on Earth.
Carl Moore, a fisherman was harvesting royal red shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Key west, Florida when he began pulling up a net from 2,000 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. That's when he discovered he had inadvertently caught the bizarre creature.
When the animal arrived on the ship, it started flopping around, and fishermen were afraid to touch the creature in order to measure it.
"'I didn't get the tape measure out because that thing's got some wicked teeth, they could do some damage," Moore told the SF Gate.
Goblin sharks live far underwater, and are rarely seen by humans, although they have been spotted in waters bordering all continents except Antarctica. Due to their secretive habitat, little is known about the bizarre-looking species. They are often described as "living fossils," and are the last survivor of a family of ancient fish known as Mitsukurinidae, which first evolved 125 million years ago.
A distinctive jaw is one of the defining characteristics of the species, and it provides the animals with some unique abilities.
"The jaws are usually held tightly while swimming and function like a catapult when the animal wants to feed. Its slender narrow teeth suggest it mainly feeds on soft body prey including shrimps, pelagic octopus, fish, and squid. It is also thought to feed on crabs. The posterior teeth are specialized for crushing," the Florida Museum of Natural History wrote on their Web site.
The goblin shark captured measures 18 feet long. It is one of just a handful of the species ever caught, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The other individual was also captured in the Gulf of Mexico, closer to Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Goblin sharks are usually pink and white, with bluish fins. The pinkish color makes the animal difficult to see far underwater.
After being caught, the fisherman took photos of the animal, then returned the specimen to the water. The reclusive fish quickly swam away.
"NOAA biologists encourage people to call and report these rare sightings and catches, as the information they can collect allows them to know more about a species," NOAA officials wrote in a statement on the catch and release, posted to Facebook.
This specimen was only the second member of its species ever caught in the Gulf of Mexico, and the first seen anywhere in over a decade.
