Fish of the Day 34 - I got that goblin shark in me

Today's fish of the day is the goblin shark! (i was very close to instead covering the helicoprion, but maybe some other day... plus, it's more difficult to study extinct things.)

Oh dear!

Goblin shark facts:

- This frightful shark has a similar story to a fish i've made a post about in the past, the coelacanth. The goblin shark has existed for millions of years (around 175 million), and was originally thought to have been extinct. However, new specimins were found that proved they were still out there, living deep below the sea. Now, just like the coelacanth, it has the nickname the "living fossil".

- The reason why it earnt the name "Goblin shark" is it's big nose! The nose of a goblin shark doesn't just look funky, but it also has the ability to sense the electrical fields of other fish, using many electroreceptors.

- Speaking of their snouts, I wasn't able to find an image of this, but goblin sharks supposedly grow into their noses. This means that baby goblin sharks will just have the weirdest proportions... that's REALLY unfourtunate. I always say there are no truly ugly creatures... but still, poor things!

- When it finds prey, it can extend, or rather launch, its jaw several inches from it's face, like this. What makes it even scarier is that they are able to preform this trick at considerable speed! Luckily, they live very, very far down in the ocean, so you'll never be a victim of this insane ability.

- To add onto the last fact, the poor thing's teeth can't properly fit into it's mouth. Only a handful of sharks have that trait, such as the sand tiger shark, and the goblin shark is among them. This means that even when their mouth is closed, their pearly whites stick out!

- This shark's skin is slightly transparent, meaning you can see some of it's insides, such as their blood veins. This gives the shark a lovely pink-ish hue, though it can appear grey in some pictures. Cutesy!

Do you got that goblin shark in you? I think this fish is too bizzare for me to identify with. But I still think it's cool!