LAKES ENTRANCE (AUSTRALIA)- It is not a shark which is often seen: the prehistoric looking frilled shark. Fishermen off southeastern Victoria, Australia caught one on their trawler near Lakes Entrance in the state’s Gippsland region.
The frilled shark is hardly ever seen, regarded as a living fossil and has an ancestry which dates back 80 million years.
According to the fishermen it was the first time a frilled shark has been sighted in living local memory. The two-meter long creature has a head and body which resembles an eel, but the tail is more reminiscent of a shark.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) confirmed it to be a frilled shark, and while the species is known to the scientific community, it was a nonetheless rare and bizarre find for local fishermen.
It has 300 teeth over 25 rows. Seldom observed, the frilled shark may capture prey by bending its body and lunging forward like a snake. The long, extremely flexible jaws enable it to swallow prey whole, while its many rows of small, needle-like teeth make it difficult for the prey to escape.
In 2007 a frilled shark was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park. See the video below: