The goblin shark is one of the most amazing representatives of its kind. She has a frightening appearance, which is why in various sources she is called brownie, rhino, scapanorinch. Similar names were given to her for a long nose, elongated jaws and long but thin teeth. They call her the goblin in America, and the house and rhino in Russia. Description of this representative of ichthyofauna, photos and places of its habitat are presented in the article.
Where does it live?
The goblin shark, known to the public for its many pictures on the Internet, prefers to swim at a depth of approximately 300-1300 meters. However, it can lead life even closer to the seabed. This is evidenced by various finds. For example, once in a telephone cable at a depth of 1350 meters a tooth of this marine inhabitant was discovered.
You can meet a shark of this species in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Here the currents are moderate and warm, they are to the liking of this predator. In addition, a shark-brownie can swim to the shores of Africa and California, but this is much less common. The above places are the most popular of those in which the goblin is found. However, this does not mean that this fish does not swim anywhere else. In fact, it can be found in almost all the seas of the world.
History
For the first time, a representative of this species was discovered off the coast of Japan. This happened at the end of the 19th century, in 1898. David Starr Jordan caught and described the first shark, and after a few years the species was partially studied by scientists. The official name of the fish was given in honor of a scientist from Japan. The name of the zoologist is Kakichi Mitsukuri. It was he who brought the valuable copy for research to Jordan.
Description
The goblin shark has a very frightening appearance, for which it got its name. Its caudal fin is rather long, while the pectoral fin is relatively short. The color of the marine life is also unusual - reddish. This is normal for this shark, because by nature it has translucent skin. Blood vessels shine through it, because of which it seems that the skin of this predator is cast in red.
The most striking and memorable feature of the shark's appearance is a huge nose, which is a long outgrowth of the coracoid shape. It contains a large number of cells, which are called electrosensitive. With their help, the shark seeks prey at a great depth.
Interestingly, "goblin" is a translation of the word tenguzame from Japanese. In folklore of Japan, a character such as a goblin is known. He had a long nose, which is why outwardly resembled this shark. Based on the description of the fish, it can be assumed that this species appeared recently, since there is no evidence that it has evolved over millennia. Sharks of this species do not even have special protective eyelids.
Dimensions
The goblin shark, the photo of which is presented in this article, is not very large. In length, it rarely exceeds 3.5 meters. Weight in most cases is about 100 kilograms. However, this does not mean that larger individuals are not found. One of the sharks found was 3.84 meters long. And the weight was more than two hundred kilograms, to be more precise - 210.
Jaws and hunting
The goblin shark has powerful jaws on which long and very sharp teeth are located. In total there are 50 pieces. The jaws are several rows of huge teeth. There are 26 teeth on the top, and a little less on the bottom. 24. A shark hunts with the help of particularly sensitive organs, since it has poor eyesight and sees almost nothing at depth, because the light hardly penetrates there.
The hunting mechanism is this: as soon as the shark finds a victim, it suddenly protrudes its jaws. To do this, she uses a special muscle that allows you to do this very quickly - literally in a split second. She instantly grabs the victim with the help of her front teeth - the sharpest ones. Rear teeth are necessary for a shark in order to gnaw shells of crustaceans and various mollusks.
Nutrition
The diet of the shark is quite diverse. So, it includes a large number of fish species. The goblin does not mind tasting squids, cuttlefish, octopuses or crustaceans, which he finds at great depths. In fact, the shark is not too picky: she likes to eat a lot, so she often does not disdain the small inhabitants of the sea. It is known that this fish can feed on its own kind, that is, other sharks.
Interesting facts from different areas
The fish under consideration - the goblin shark - is a rather rare representative of the ichthyofauna. That is why it is little studied, and the facts about it may surprise many people.
- 25% of the body weight of the fish is in an organ such as the liver. Why is that? The fact is that the shark does not have a swimming bladder. Its function is performed precisely by the liver. If this organ were smaller, the fish would have difficulty swimming at great depths.
- A goblin shark (also found in the Black Sea ) is considered ovoviviparous. However, this fact is not officially confirmed, since it is a rather rare species.
- In the scientific literature, only 45 representatives of this species are described.
- Fish has no commercial value.
- Externally, the shark resembles ancient species that have long since disappeared.
- Because of the ugly face, fish are often compared with representatives of an alien civilization.
- A shark does not pose a great danger to humans, since it is very difficult to get to the depths where it lives without training and special equipment.
- Many people wonder, “How do I get a goblin shark as a trophy?” The fact is that her jaw is a very valuable trophy. So, to kill this fish is very difficult. And not even because of its size and huge jaw, but because it is rare. Perhaps this is an endangered species, so you should not hunt for it.