For the first time ever, researchers have captured the elusive goblin shark on camera in its natural habitat in the deep sea. Previously, these sharks had only been seen alive after being hauled to the surface by fishermen.
The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) lives 6,560 feet below the water’s surface in the Central Pacific. It has an elongated snout and jaws that can be extended from the rest of its body to snatch up prey.
The species has existed for about 125 million years and is often referred to as a “living fossil.”
Researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of Hawaii at Mānoa documented two goblin shark sightings. One was near Jarvis Island in the South Central Pacific Ocean, and the other was at the Tonga Trench in the Southwest Pacific.
It is believed that goblin sharks live all across Earth’s oceans because they have been caught in different regions, but there is not enough evidence in the record to prove this theory.
Goblin sharks have been found in parts of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and parts of Australia, the western United States, Taiwan, and Japan.
“The goblin shark is a deep-sea charismatic animal, and I never thought we’d see one alive,” said Alan Jamieson, a co-author of the study and the director of Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Center.
In August 2024, researchers spotted a goblin shark during an expedition to the Tonga Trench. A baited camera attached to a deep-sea lander captured footage of the shark at nearly 6,600 feet below the ocean’s surface, which was 2,300 feet deeper than any other previously known goblin shark.
The team spent more than 50 days collecting footage between depths of 2,600 and 35,400 feet. The shark appeared for about 20 seconds. It was likely female and swam along the northern slope of the trench.
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The other goblin shark observation was made in July 2019 near a seamount northwest of Jarvis Island. A camera system attached to a remotely operated vehicle called Hercules recorded footage of the shark at a depth of 4,058 feet. The Jarvis Island shark was male. It was over 11 feet long and was probably more than 50 years old.
The latest sightings have expanded the sharks’ range farther into the central Pacific than what was documented in the past. The expanded range could help inform goblin shark conservation.
“New discoveries like this demonstrate that there is still so much to explore in our deep ocean home,” said Aaron Judah, the first author of the study and a doctoral student in biological oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.
“Given the newly expanded geographic range of the goblin shark, this species can be included in regional management and a nation’s biodiversity list.”
The study was published in the Journal of Fish Biology.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
