The Frilled Shark at the Surface
In 2007, a fisherman in Japan found a living fossil swimming at the surface: a shark like an eel, with frilly gills and 300 needle-like teeth.
What was reported
In January 2007, a fisherman near Awashima Marine Park, in Shizuoka, Japan, spotted an unusual animal swimming at the surface. It was a frilled shark, a deep-sea species almost never seen alive. Staff at the park caught it and filmed it in a tank, providing the first footage of a living frilled shark.
It looked like a cross between an eel and a sea serpent, with a long body, a wide mouth lined with about 300 small, three-pointed teeth, and frilled gill slits around its neck.
Explanations offered
The frilled shark is a real deep-sea animal, often called a 'living fossil' because its family has changed little in tens of millions of years. The one found in 2007 was probably sick, which may explain why it came to the surface. It died within hours. Some have suggested such sharks could lie behind old sea serpent stories.
- When
- January 2007
- Where
- Awashima Marine Park, Numazu, Shizuoka, Japan
- Witnesses
- A fisherman and marine park staff
- Status
- Confirmed
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