Claim to Fame

This beauty was sent to me by both Berstler and Julia. What you're looking at is a frilled shark. This fish is rarely seen alive because they live at a depth of around 600 meters or more. That's pretty deep.

This particular specimen was accidentally caught by a Japanese fisherman, who then called the authorities. I can't imagine what went though his head as he brought this eel-like shark to the surface.

Frilled sharks, like many of its cousins, give live birth. It is estimated that they are pregnant for one to two years, which would give them the longest gestatation of any vertebrate - even longer than elephants. That is a claim to fame I'm sure no mother wants.

Thanks for the photos, Berstler & Julia.

Photos (1 & 2) courtesy: Reuters & Yahoo

Three Years Later

Back in January 2007 I posted on a deep sea frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) that had been found alive off the coast of Japan. I only posted photos then, not knowing that there was video. The shark didn't long survive captivity (too warm, too shallow). So, more than three years later, here's the video. Be thankful you're a surface-dweller.

Thanks, Thanh.

Sidenote: They bear live young, typically 2-12 pups. I never knew that baby sharks were called pups. That's even cuter than 'fry.'

Quick Follow Up

Just a quick follow up to the frilled shark post from a couple of days ago - here is what that bad boy looks like from the side. See what happens when eel meets shark? A double post on this blog, that's what.

Photo courtesy: Yahoo