Biology & Medicine
Chemistry
Documentaries
Earth Sciences
Humanity
Life On Earth
Mathematics
Physics
Science Fiction
Technology
Articles / Flora and Fauna
Ancient Shark Found Off Japanese Coast
Posted by nova on January 24, 2007 at 7:40 am | Hits: 7264 | Comments: 1
TOKYO (Reuters) - A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is 600 meters (2,000 ft) or more under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week.
The Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a fisherman at a nearby port on Sunday that he had spotted an odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.
Marine park staff caught the 1.6 meter (5 ft) long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times.
The shark appeared to be in poor condition when park staff moved it to a seawater pool where they filmed it swimming and opening its jaws.
"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare," said an official at the park. "They live between 600 and 1,000 meters under the water, which is deeper than humans can go."
"We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," the official said.
The shark died a few hours after being caught.
Frilled sharks, which feed on other sharks and sea creatures, are sometimes caught in the nets of trawlers but are rarely seen alive.
Source: Reuters.com
Comments
To comment on this item, please login or register.
Drunken Monkeys Raid Resorts, Steal Alcohol (Video)
Drunken Monkeys Raid Resorts, Steal Alcohol (Video)
(These monkeys steal alcohol from people at a tropical resort and get drunk. There are some interesting parallels between drunk monkeys and human under the influence of alcohol.)
Hits: 16580
Rating: 2.79 / 5
Category: Life On Earth
Open Mouthed Boa Constrictor (Image)
(This flash map will show you earthquakes detected recently around the world.)
Posted on April 15, 2013 at 2:25 pm in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 72 Hits.
(The amount of ice melting on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased dramatically in recent decades.)
Posted on April 15, 2013 at 2:16 pm in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 50 Hits.
(Shodan is the world’s first computer search engine that lets you search the Internet for computers. Find devices based on city, country, latitude/longitude, host name, operating system and IP. “Shodan is a search engine for hackers both good and bad. Sho)
Posted on April 9, 2013 at 7:35 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 715 Hits.
(After 17-years living below ground, billions of cicadas belonging to Brood II are beginning to emerge across much of the eastern United States. )
Posted on April 8, 2013 at 5:32 pm in Living World.
0 Comments. 50 Hits.
(By translating shapes into computerized images, this system can turn any surface into a touch-screen.)
Posted on April 1, 2013 at 8:28 am in Technology.
0 Comments. 0 Hits.
(Two forthcoming European Physical Journal D papers challenge established wisdom about the nature of vacuum. )
Posted on March 26, 2013 at 4:55 am in Physics.
0 Comments. 71 Hits.
(New developments in microscopy have allowed researchers to image individual bonds within a molecule — seeing down to the atom scale. Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scientists-can-now-see-individual-atoms-2012-9#ixzz2ONqAybqc)
Posted on March 23, 2013 at 10:06 am in Physics.
0 Comments. 92 Hits.
(Mars One co-founder tells CBC about its proposed one-way trip to the Red Planet)
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 12:39 am in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 83 Hits.
(A defense contractor better known for building jet fighters and lethal missiles says it has found a way to slash the amount of energy needed to remove salt from seawater, potentially making it vastly cheaper to produce clean water at a time when scarcity )
Posted on March 17, 2013 at 9:50 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 201 Hits.
(New research suggests it may be possible to learn complex tasks with little to no conscious effort, just like in The Matrix. Whoa, indeed.)
Posted on March 17, 2013 at 6:28 pm in Technology.
0 Comments. 126 Hits.
(NASA technicians have just finished the mirror backplate support structure, a folding wing assembly designed with to safely collapse the beryllium mirror during flight, and expand it again in orbit.)
Posted on March 16, 2013 at 2:26 pm in Astronomy.
0 Comments. 358 Hits.
(The new find solves a puzzle about where these big-fanged felines arose)
Posted on March 16, 2013 at 8:36 am in Earth Sciences.
0 Comments. 138 Hits.
