‘Alien’ shark with strange beak spotted near Brit holiday destination for the first time
Source: Daily Star – World News
Spotted by two local fishermen, the sighting of the deep sea creature marks the first time the shark has been spotted off the coast of this popular holiday destination – ever
Two stunned fishermen made a rare catch when they spotted an ‘alien’ shark off the coast of a European tourist hotspot. Marcos Hernández and Ramón Santana, both local to the Canary Islands, were fishing in the waters near San Cristobal in Tenerife when they saw a goblin shark – a highly rare and unusual creature.
The sighting is the first confirmed sighting of the species in the area, local media reports. Also known as Mistukurina owstoni, goblin sharks are deep-sea creatures, in depths ranging between 800 and 3,000 feet. However the men recorded the deep-sea animal as it swam near they boat.
With lineage dating back to around 125 million years, these strange-looking beasts sometimes called ‘living fossils’ have a peculiar elongated beak and an extended jaw.
Hernández and Santana were fishing for hake and deepwater perch at a depth of 900m/2,952 feet when they caught a glimpse of the freaky animal, reports MailOnline.
The men had ‘no idea what it was’ when they first caught a glimpse of the animal.
Marcos said: “When it came up, we had no idea what it was.
“At first, we thought it was a swordfish because of the snout but then we realised it wasn’t.
“It had leathery skin and after looking online, we understood what it really was.”
The pair caught the shark to take a photo before releasing it back into the water.
Goblin sharks have been recorded in a number of places, including around Brazil, France, Portugal, the Gulf of Mexico, Japan and Australia, according to Ocean Convervancy.
In 2023, Greek scientists were baffled to find a goblin shark in the Mediterranean Sea. Having never been spotted in the waters previously, the news of the shark caused scientific chaos. However, a US-based shark expert debunked the sighting, claiming the shark was a toy.
Goblin sharks are categorised as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The news comes after we reported how a fisherman was left shocked after he caught a strange-looking creature which has been dubbed an “alien”. With its large, bulbous body, tiny eyes and gaping mouth, it’s easy to mistake this fish for something out of this world.
The terrifying discovery was made in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean by deep sea fisherman Roman Fedortsov. Althought it looks like it could have been taken straight from a movie set, he identified the creature as an Aptocyclus ventricosus, also known as the smooth lumpfish or smooth lumpsucker.
In his caption, Fedortsov dubbed the fish “beautiful” and apparently “edible”.
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