Many species of shark are known for their teeth but this strange animal, arguably, beats the lot. The goblin shark has a bizarre set of gnashers that it can shoot forward out of its mouth like a slingshot to catch its prey.
Although this might sound terrifying, there’s no need to worry about coming across a goblin shark anytime soon. These denizens of the deep sea live over 100 metres below the surface.
What are goblin sharks?
Goblin sharks are one of the most immediately recognisable and possibly the ugliest species of shark. They live in the dark, cold waters of the deep-sea, usually far below 100m.
Although they are rarely seen by humans and not well studied, their hunting technique has captivated people around the world. Because they’re not particularly strong swimmers, these sharks rely on their fast-moving, extendable jaws, which whip out of their mouths like a catapult, to wolf down prey before it can swim away.
What do they look like?
As the name might suggest, these sharks aren’t pretty. Their flabby, corpse-like bodies have a greyish-pink hue because of the blood vessels that can be seen through their translucent skin. And then, of course, there’s their face.
That ugly, ugly face. With their long, flat snout – which looks like a witch’s pointed nose – and tiny pointed teeth, you’d be forgiven for thinking these unfortunate-looking beasts are the star of a horror movie (and that’s before they extend their jaws outside their mouth!). The similarity to a goblin is clear.
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How big are goblin sharks?
Goblin sharks are typically, up to 400cm but it’s believed they can grow over 600cm. They weigh up to 210kg
What do they eat?
Goblin sharks like to eat bony fish, cephalopods and crustaceans. We know because that’s what scientists have found in their stomach when they’ve dissected dead individuals.
How do goblin sharks hunt?
The goblin shark’s massive honker of a snout might not meet traditional beauty standards but it’s really useful. The underside of their paddle-shaped nose is covered in special pores called ampullae of Lorenzini, which help them detect prey by picking up electrical signals in the water.
Once they’ve found their victim, goblin sharks are ready to pounce. And what a pounce! Goblin sharks do something called ‘slingshot feeding’. Their jaws are usually held in place by two pairs of ligaments. To grab a bite, these sharks open their mouths wide by swinging their lower jaw down and back (“all the better to eat you with, my dear!”).
Releasing the tension in the ligaments that were holding their jaw in place makes it protrude forward at an incredible speed – as if pinging out of a catapult – so they can snap up their prey. When they do this, their jaw can extend nearly 10 percent of their entire body length. Goblin sharks are fairly slow swimmers so this clever trick gives them a better chance of gobbling up fast-moving prey. Using their small, pointed teeth to grasp on, they swallow their food whole.
Where do goblin sharks live?
The species has been recorded in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans in deep waters, often near continental shelves and seamounts (underwater mountains). Perhaps fittingly for their spooky appearance, goblin sharks live far from humans in the deep sea. They are typically found between around 100m and 1,300m, although researchers have caught them on camera at an incredible 2,000m deep.
The waters between 200m and 1,000m are known as the mesopelagic zone – you might have heard it called the ‘twilight zone’. Here, there’s very little sunlight and temperatures start plummeting as you drop deeper and deeper. If you spot twinkles in the water around you, it might be the light from the bioluminescent creatures living in these dark seas.
Descend further, past 1000m, and you get to bathypelagic zone where it’s so dark that there is no light from the sun at all (although, again, you might notice some bioluminescence). Known as the midnight zone, it’s a very dark, cold (around 4°C) and harsh environment.
How do they reproduce?
We’re not exactly sure. No-one has seen a pregnant female but experts believe that these little studied sharks are ovoviviparous: eggs develop inside the female’s body before hatching. Once fully developed, they are born as live, free-swimming pups.
Are they dangerous to humans?
No. Even if goblin sharks wanted to hurt a human (which they don’t), they live in such deep waters that most people will never see one in their lifetime unless it’s in a museum. According to the International Shark Attack File, there are no records of a goblin shark biting a human.
That’s not to say that they can’t be an inconvenience to us, though. Apparently, they have been known to chomp on fibre-optic cables in the deep sea and take out our internet connection.
How long do goblin sharks live for?
Their average lifespan is unknown but possibly up to 60 years
Are they under threat?
According to the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Spcies, goblin sharks are a species of Least Concern, although its population size is unknown. Despite living far from human habitats, these deepwater sharks are sometimes accidentally caught by fishers using long-lines and deep-sea trawlers. If destructive activities such as deep-sea mining took place in this sharks’ habitat, it could also be problematic for the species.
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Top image: Carcass of preserved goblin shark under blue light. © Getty
