Recently, a bizarre deep-sea shark was rescued from the ocean off Australia’s coast with large eyes and a human-like smile.
Experts in shark biology aren’t certain which species this strange-looking creature may be, adding to the mystery surrounding it.
Trapman Bermagui is an online deep-sea angler who reeled in the mysterious SharkFrom a depth of approximately 2,130 feet (650m) off the coast New South Wales, Australia.
Later, the fisherman shared a photo of the deep-sea specimen with his friend on Sept. 12. Facebook. This image shows the dead shark’s sandpaper-like skin with its large pointed nose, bulging eyes and exposed pearly whites.
Facebook users quickly noticed the unusual features of the shark and were either shocked or afraid.
One commenter stated that the specimen was “the stuff that causes nightmares”, while another said that the creature’s “evil smiles” give them “major creeps”.
Others joked about the shark’s appearance and speculated that it had “false teeth” (or was smiling after having its braces removed).
Commenters also speculated as to the species that the shark belonged. The most popular guess was that it was a cookiecutter Shark (Isistius brasiliensisIt is named after the distinctive bite marks it leaves on larger mammals. A goblin shark was also a possibility.Mitsukurina owstoni) or a species of lantern shark (Etmopteridae).
Trapman Bermagui, however, disagreed with online commenters. “Totally not cookie cutter,” said the fisher. Newsweek. “It is a rough-skin shark, also known to be a species or endeavor dogfish.”
Endeavor dogfish (Centrophorus mouccensisAccording to The, () is a type of gulper Shark, which is a group deep-sea sharks that can be found all over the globe. Shark Research Institute.
However, some shark experts weren’t convinced by the fisherman’s identification.
“Looks to be a deepwater kitefin Shark (Dalatias licha“(which are well-known in the waters of Australia,” Christopher Lowe (director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach), told Newsweek.
However, without being able see the whole specimen, it’s difficult to be certain, he said.
Dean Grubbs, a Florida State University shark expert and marine biologist, came up with a different conclusion.
Grubbs thought that the dead shark might have been a roughskin fish (Centroscymnus Owstonii), a type of sleeper shark from the same family as Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalusAccording to Newsweek:
Lowe also suggested that it is possible that the shark could be a new species. “We are constantly discovering new species and many of them look very similar.”
Other experts think Trapman Bermagui might have been right after all.
Brit Finucci, a fisheries scientist at New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, said that it is a gulper-shark. She also specializes in deep-sea and scuba sharks. It is not known which species it is, however.
Charlie Huveneers from Flinders University in Australia said that Finucci had identified the shark and that the animal was most likely an Australian gulper shark.
Finucci stated that in the past, fisheries targeted gulper sharks to extract their liver oil in New South Wales.
She said that most gulper sharks are sensitive to overexploitation and are therefore protected in Australia.
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This article was originally published in Live Science. Learn more Original article here.
