This 1.6 metre long eel-like
animal, identified as a deep
sea frill shark, is usually
600 metres underwater
according to Awashima Marine
Park officials.The sharks,
while they usually turn up in
deep sea trawler fishing nets,
are rarely seen alive. Marine
park officials believe a
particular seasonal up current
from the deep se
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This 1.6 metre long eel-like
animal, identified as a deep
sea frill shark, is usually
600 metres underwater
according to Awashima Marine
Park officials.The sharks,
while they usually turn up in
deep sea trawler fishing nets,
are rarely seen alive. Marine
park officials believe a
particular seasonal up current
from the deep seas carried
this one up to the
surface.This one was a female
weighing up to 7.5 kilogrammes
and unlike most other sharks
has six gills and bizarre
forked teeth.[Visitor]: 'Its
got shark's skin,'Shark skin
in Japan was once commonly
used by Japanese carpenters as
sand paper.[Visitor]: 'Its
weird,' Very little is known
of this rare deep sea shark,
but it is believed to eat
squid, fish and other sharks.
Females are believed to have a
one or two year pregnancy --
making it possibly the longest
gestation period of any
vertebrae.Fossil records can
be found of this shark up to
80 million years ago, and like
another famous deep sea
denizen, the Coelancanth, is
called a 'living fossil',
according to the marine
park.[Mitsuru Sato, Awashima
Marine park official]: 'We've
found fossils of these frill
sharks buried in stratum
(earth layers) 80 million
years old so this is truly a
living fossil,'While the park
official hoped to have kept
this deep sea monster alive,
but the shark was unable to
survive outside its deep sea
environment and died after
soon after capture.

Category Film & Animation

Tags japan, rare, marine, sea, shark, giant, eel, ntd, prehistoric, ntdtv, ntdnews, frill