Scientists discovered an ultra-rare and frightening looking frilled shark while doing research in the Atlantic, and it's a truly fascinating species.
As we reported recently, scientists discovered a rare frilled shark off the coast of Portugal while doing research to minimize unwanted fish catches on behalf of the European Union. But you may not be aware of some amazing facts about this strange fish, and its terrifying appearance.
The frilled shark looks truly alien, with frilled gills running along its stomach. It looks about the same today as it did 80 million years ago, when dinosaurs still thrived on the Earth. We almost never see this fish, and weren’t even aware it existed until the 19th century, because it lives up to 4,200 feet below the surface of the ocean.
There’s never been a recorded frilled shark attack, although scientists have apparently cut themselves examining their sharp teeth. Scientists first observed this species in the wild back in August of 2004 while exploring the ocean off the southeastern United States. Japanese fisherman found a female alive in 2007 which appeared to be sick.