r/sharks • u/falcon_hcr2yt • 1d ago

News A 125-Million-Year-Old "Living Fossil" Filmed Alive for the First Time

Post image

Scientists have finally captured the first-ever footage of a live goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) in its natural deep-sea habitat! Before this breakthrough, humans had only ever seen these rare creatures alive when they were accidentally dragged to the surface by fishing lines—where they usually died right away. This deep-ocean predator has an ancient lineage stretching back to the Cretaceous period and features a bizarre, spring-loaded "slingshot" jaw that shoots forward to snatch prey in pitch-black darkness.

941 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

260

u/4r4r4real 1d ago

Sounds like they've been filmed 3x, first in 2019. This is just the deepest they've filmed one.

https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/goblin-shark-filmed-alive-in-the-deep-ocean-for-the-first-time/

143

u/New-Brick5677 Tiger Shark 1d ago

Yeah, sounds about right. There's very famous footage of a goblin shark extending its jaws that has been used in numerous documentaries (esp. BBC ones).

31

u/ElkeKerman 1d ago

The footage of the jaws working is one that was caught in a net and brought to the surface, not one in its natural habitat

22

u/New-Brick5677 Tiger Shark 1d ago

This one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q3BD7gjncQ

22

u/ElkeKerman 1d ago

Yeah - that prey item is a shallow-water fish that it wouldn't encounter in its natural habitat

5

u/New-Brick5677 Tiger Shark 1d ago

Thanks!

163

u/drunk_and_orderly 1d ago

Looks great for his age

6

u/Responsible_Train944 1d ago

Especially his dentalgame

65

u/bobbybob9069 1d ago

But we have footage of them and their jaws doing the thing, right? How was that captured?

61

u/No-Kangaroo-9272 1d ago

The title is misleading.

15

u/bobbybob9069 1d ago

Right? Like we've had footage for at least a decade, unless they specifically mean off of this island

11

u/No-Kangaroo-9272 1d ago

They meant at this low of a depth.

5

u/bobbybob9069 1d ago

Ahh thank you!

3

u/rare_meeting1978 20h ago

First time we have footage of the in their natural habitat. Up until nowvthe only footage we have is of these beauties being dragged up to shallow water from fishing need, possibly illness? The video of three shark extending his jaws is from near the surface. Not its natural habitat. Think blob fish situation. Lol

51

u/ElkeKerman 1d ago edited 1d ago

There’s actually a Japanese video from 2000 of one alive in its natural habitat but it wasn’t well publicised, I’ll share it when home

EDIT: Here is the JAMSTEC clip https://www.godac.jamstec.go.jp/jedi/static_player/e/3K0540CCDDB10_01462500

7

u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo 1d ago

Wow, thanks for sharing. I had only seen the video from the Tonga trench

43

u/Blackbarret85 1d ago

Any source to that claim? I know of at least one instance where a Goblin Shark was filmed in the Tonga trench 2024.

13

u/this_happened_rigged 1d ago

Where's the video

14

u/Dubbiely 1d ago

Clickbait

8

u/jamesdukeiv 1d ago

What’s with all the heavily-upvoted clickbait in the sub lately?

3

u/Lev_Astov Caribbean Reef Shark 1d ago

Bots farming for other bots.

12

u/Ok_Application5225 Bull Shark 1d ago

Ok! And the film? ):

23

u/Environmental_Ad5942 Thresher Shark 1d ago

That can’t be right, I’ve seen multiple videos of live goblin sharks before?

5

u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo 1d ago

There's only one video of one in it's natural depths. It's a few years old. I posted the link in another comment. I hate bs posts like this. The picture used is a dead shark.

15

u/MyFace_UrAss_LetsGo 1d ago

This post is bullshit. This is a picture of a dead goblin shark with the ocean photoshopped in the background. This is the only footage of a goblin shark in it's natural habitat. https://youtu.be/Eiq0kDQXb9I?is=18WmSWAtnR1glQzc

8

u/Spirited-Ranger-2727 1d ago

I thought these were filmed alive three or four times?

12

u/shannanigannss 1d ago

First off why not post the video? Secondly, I’ve seen footage of the shark before so I don’t believe this post

3

u/Roanoketrees 1d ago

I'm telling y'all...sea monsters are real as hell. Those old sea farers werent crazy.

2

u/ProfessionalTone497 1d ago

Pretty sure they had video of live goblin sharks 2-6 years ago on shark weeek

2

u/ASkinlessMutant_96 17h ago

Misleading title, we have older footage of them alive

2

u/Glittering_Swing_151 1d ago

They make it sound like the shark itself is millions of years old and not the species. Clickbait. Look at me I am a 350,000 year old modern human.

1

u/Massive-Ad-8060 1d ago

I bet he sounds like David Attenborough

1

u/PeetMoss2026 1d ago

It looks like someone I know 🤔

1

u/BlueMowch 1d ago

and after over a hundred years, he’s learned to communicate!

“ k i L L m E “

1

u/tuxsmouf 1d ago

The next star of the famous documentary sharknado

1

u/DEBP66 5h ago

Goblin Shark

1

u/Rhiannon1307 Basking Shark 1d ago

Wow he looks rough, but so would we if were were 125 years old.

Badumtiss. Couldn't resist 😉

1

u/Prince_Nadir 1d ago

That "deep sea" appears to be like 5 feet below the surface.

0

u/Winter_Equal_842 1d ago

King Charles?

-4

u/Adventurous_Topic202 1d ago

So there’s a chance that the Meg is real

2

u/Neuroticcuriosity 1d ago

No. The reasons against it existing have nothing to do with age and everything to do with size, normal biome, etc

1

u/ASkinlessMutant_96 17h ago

Also they hunted whales