Repository of Randomness: Goblin Shark

We now go from an ancient fossil to a more modern fossil, by which I mean a very old species that is still around and looks like it should have gone the way of the dinosaur a while ago. Part of the reason for that is because it's the only living member of it's family, Mitsukurinidae, which goes back 125 million years. It's rather well adapted for it's life, which is why it survived, but that doesn't mean it's not ugly and weird by today's standards.

Here's a picture, from the Smithsonian link below, that you can use to tell me if you disagree:

I can't be sure (unless someone comments otherwise), but I think most people would agree that that isn't a pretty sight. Then again, these guys are deep-sea predators, so no one really needs to see them, and anyone that argues can be renamed lunch if the Goblin Shark so decides. I'd say you don't have to worry about them coming after you because they are normally in the deep water, but they have been known to come to the surface sometimes for some reason, so...maybe don't insult them unless you're on land.

Their giant nose is actually full of sensing organs so they can find prey, and their jaws can extend to almost as long as their nose to grab the prey once it's been found, if needed, so there's a reason for their ugliness...but they're still pretty gnarly. Also, since they're deep water, they tend to be pretty mellow and swim slowly, aside from the moment before they munch, then they move fast. It's because of how cold the water is and how hard it is to move around in such cold, heavy, water.

Unfortunately (maybe), we don't know a lot about these guys. They pop up fairly rarely, mostly as accidental catches by fishermen, and have been found in southern Asia, around Africa, and both United States coastlines so far, so we know they're all over the place. Since they aren't found often, attempts to study them are limited to their dead bodies when found, and guesswork.

While I doubt that many people find them beautiful aside from the author of the article from the Ocean's Conservancy site that is linked below and provided this picture, which is alot nicer than the previous, I can almost guarantee that there are a lot of people that would describe them as fascinating and would love to study them if they can, so we'll know more in time.

If you want to know more immediately, there are links below and Google is an awesome friend. I just wanted to share this because they're interesting, and I came across them again recently when I was looking into something else that proved less interesting than I thought it would. Oh well, that's life. Thanks for reading, I hope you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it.

(Just for fun, I came across a stuffed animal goblin shark while I was looking for a better picture, so they can be made cute(ish) if someone tries.)