Goblin shark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Goblin shark |
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Mitsukurina
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owstoni
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The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare species of deep-sea shark. It's sometimes called a "living fossil" because it's the only living member of a very old shark family, the Mitsukurinidae. This family has existed for about 125 million years!
This shark has pink skin and a very unique look. It has a long, flat snout and jaws that can shoot out very far. Its mouth is full of sharp, nail-like teeth. A grown goblin shark is usually between 3 and 4 meters (10 to 13 feet) long. However, one caught in 2000 was thought to be about 6 meters (20 feet) long!
Goblin sharks live deep in the ocean, usually below 100 meters (330 feet). They can be found on continental slopes, in submarine canyons, and near seamounts all over the world. Adult sharks tend to live even deeper than younger ones. Some scientists think these sharks can dive down to 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) for short times.
The goblin shark's body is quite soft and its fins are small. This suggests it's not a fast swimmer. It hunts for fish, cephalopods (like squid), and crustaceans (like crabs). It finds prey using its long snout, which has special sensors called ampullae of Lorenzini. These sensors can detect tiny electric fields made by other animals. When it finds prey, it quickly extends its jaws to grab it.
Not many goblin sharks are caught by accident in deep-sea fishing nets. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the goblin shark is of "Least Concern" for extinction. This is because it lives in many places and isn't caught very often.
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What's in a Name? The Goblin Shark's Taxonomy
An American scientist named David Starr Jordan first described the goblin shark in 1898. He realized it was a new species, and even a new group (genus and family) of sharks. He studied a young male shark, about 107 centimeters (42 inches) long, caught in Sagami Bay, Japan.
The shark was given to Professor Kakichi Mitsukuri by a ship captain and naturalist named Alan Owston. Jordan named the shark Mitsukurina owstoni to honor these two men.
The common name "goblin shark" comes from its Japanese name, tenguzame. A tengu is a mythical Japanese creature often shown with a long nose and a red face. Another name for this shark is "elfin shark."
For a while, some scientists thought the goblin shark was related to an extinct shark called Scapanorhynchus. But later, better fossils showed they were different. Also, some early goblin shark specimens looked different because their jaws were stuck in various positions when they were preserved. This made scientists think they were different species, but they were all goblin sharks!
Where Do Goblin Sharks Live?
Goblin sharks have been found in all three major oceans. This shows they live all over the world!
- In the Atlantic Ocean, they've been seen off the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, France, Portugal, and Senegal. They've also been found near seamounts in the middle of the Atlantic.
- In the Indo-Pacific and Oceania, they live off South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, and New Zealand.
- Only one goblin shark has been found in the eastern Pacific, off southern California.
These sharks are usually found over the upper continental slope at depths of 270 to 960 meters (890 to 3,150 feet). They have been caught as deep as 1,300 meters (4,300 feet). Older sharks tend to live deeper than younger ones. Young goblin sharks often live in submarine canyons off southern Japan, at depths of 100 to 350 meters (330 to 1,150 feet). Sometimes, they even swim into shallower waters, as shallow as 40 meters (130 feet).
In 2014, fishermen in Key West, Florida, caught a goblin shark in the Gulf of Mexico. They took a picture and released it. This was only the second time one had been caught in the Gulf. The first was in 2000, and it was thought to be about 6 meters (20 feet) long.
Another goblin shark was found in a fishing net in Sri Lanka in July 2014. It was about 1.2 meters (4 feet) long and weighed about 7.5 kilograms (16.5 pounds).
How Goblin Sharks Live and Hunt
Scientists believe goblin sharks are slow and not very active. Their bones are not very strong, their muscles are weak, and their fins are small. This all points to a slow-moving lifestyle. Their long tail fin, held at a low angle, also suggests they are slow swimmers.
The long snout of the goblin shark is very important for sensing. It has many ampullae of Lorenzini, which are special sensors that detect the tiny electric fields made by other animals. This helps them find prey in the dark deep sea. Their eyesight seems less important, but they can change the size of their pupils, so they might use their vision in some situations.
Goblin sharks might be eaten by blue sharks. Some small creatures, like copepods and tapeworms, can live as parasites on goblin sharks.
What Do Goblin Sharks Eat?
Goblin sharks mostly eat bony fish like rattails and dragonfishes. They also eat cephalopods (like squid) and crustaceans (like shrimp and isopods). Sometimes, garbage has even been found in their stomachs! They eat both animals that live near the sea floor and those that swim in the middle of the water.
Since they are not fast swimmers, goblin sharks might be "ambush predators." This means they wait for their prey to come close. Their body is not very dense, and they have a large, oily liver. This helps them float easily in the water, so they can drift quietly towards their prey without being noticed.
When prey is close, the shark's special jaws shoot forward to catch it. This jaw movement is like a "catapult." Special elastic bands in their jaws store energy. When the shark bites, these bands release, launching the jaws forward. At the same time, a part of their mouth drops down, creating suction that pulls in water and the prey.
Videos of goblin sharks feeding show that their jaws can extend out much farther than other sharks' jaws. The lower jaw moves even faster than the upper jaw, not only shooting forward but also swinging upward to grab the prey. This unique jaw movement helps the goblin shark catch its food effectively.
Goblin Shark Life Cycle
Not much is known about how goblin sharks reproduce. No pregnant female goblin shark has ever been found and studied. However, scientists believe they reproduce like other mackerel sharks. This means they are viviparous, giving birth to live young. Their embryos likely grow by eating unfertilized eggs inside the mother.
The smallest known goblin shark was about 82 centimeters (32 inches) long, which is probably their birth size. Male goblin sharks become adults when they are about 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) long. We don't know how big females are when they become adults. Some scientists think male goblin sharks become mature around 16 years old and can live up to 60 years.
Goblin Sharks and Humans
Because goblin sharks live so deep in the ocean, they are not dangerous to humans.
A few goblin sharks have been caught alive and put in public aquariums. However, they only survived for a short time. One lived for a week at Tokai University, and another lived for two days at Tokyo Sea Life Park.
Goblin sharks are not very important for fishing. Their meat can be dried and salted. Their jaws are also valuable to collectors. In the past, people in Japan used them for liver oil and fertilizer.
These sharks are not specifically hunted by fishermen. They are sometimes caught by accident in deep-sea fishing nets or on long fishing lines. Most of these catches are rare. However, off southern Japan, about 30 young goblin sharks are caught each year. Also, a fishery off Madeira catches two or three goblin sharks annually.
In April 2003, more than a hundred goblin sharks were caught off northwestern Taiwan. No one knows why so many were caught at once, but it happened after a big earthquake. This many goblin sharks had never been seen in that area before or since.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the goblin shark as "Least Concern" for extinction. This is because they live in a wide range of places, and most of them are thought to live in areas where there is no fishing. So, human activities are not believed to threaten them.
See also
In Spanish: Tiburón duende para niños
