Terrifying shark back 80m years caught off Portugal

Risingbd Desk: Scientists working on a project off the Algarve coast were in for a surprise when they caught a prehistoric shark this week.

The bizarre creature, known as a frilled shark, dates back around 80 million years, making it one of the oldest species.

Little is known about the shark, which has a long, snake-like body, and circular arrangement of 300 teeth.

Scientists from the Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere caught the rare frilled shark while working a project to 'minimise unwanted catches in commercial fishing,' according to Sic Noticias TV.

The shark dates back 80 million years to the 'age of the dinosaurs' and is one of the oldest living species today.

The male fish measured 1.5 metres long, and was caught at a depth of 700 metres, according to the researchers.

It was captured at a depth of 2,300 ft off the resort of Portimao in Portugal.

The shark has a long snake-like body, although it is 'little known in terms of its biology or environment.'

This is mostly due to the fact that it lives at depths that are rarely ventured to by humans.
Speaking to Sic Noticias, Professor Margarida Castro, a researcher form the University of the Algarve explained that the shark gets its name from the frilled arrangement of its 300 teeth, 'which allows it to trap squid, fish and other sharks in sudden lunges'.

Frilled sharks are members of some of the most ancient groups of sharks that are known for having extra gills, big mouths, eyes on the side of their heads and spineless back fins.   
This isn't the first time that a frilled shark has been caught.

Last December, a fisherman called Roman Fedortsov uploaded a picture to Twitter of a frilled shark he caught in Russia.

Source: The Mail


risingbd/Nov 13, 2017/Mukul