When scientists found a specimen of a very rare prehistoric shark near the coast of Portugal, it made the news. No one knows why this species has been around for so long, but one thing is for sure: the frilled shark looks like it got stuck here from a different time. This begs the question are frilled sharks still alive? And are they really 80 million years old? Let’s find out.
The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This means that the species has a lower chance of going extinct. It is unclear how many of them are still in the oceans, though. Since they are rarely seen, it is impossible to ascertain how many of them still exist, and how old are they. Even though the specimen discovered near the coast of Portugal was found in the second half of the 1800s, scientists did not see the shark in its natural environment until 2004.
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The frilled shark lives 390 to 4,200 feet below the surface. Like other animals that live in deep water, this makes it much harder to find. Even though they live in many places around the world, their distribution seems "spotty." If you can swim deep enough, you might see the frilled shark in Suruga Bay in Japan, near the coasts of New Zealand and Australia, or in the Atlantic Ocean between Norway and Namibia.
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On average, they are between 3 and 5 feet long, but their bodies can grow up to 6.4 feet in length, with females being slightly longer. Scientists still have a lot to learn about the species, so they don't know how long they live, but they think a frilled shark’s lifespan could be up to 25 years.
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Compared to other sharks, the frilled shark is very different. It has more primitive traits and looks which is why it is labeled as a "living fossil". These sharks have long, thin bodies and snake-like heads. They don't swim very well and don't bite very hard either. Their teeth are probably the most distinct feature that sets them apart from all other shark species. They have a mouth full of trident-shaped teeth that point backward. Each tooth has three sharp points. This helps the animal grab and eat its prey when it lunges at it quickly.
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David A. Ebert, who runs the Pacific Shark Research Center, has seen the terrifying jaw of a frilled shark with his own eyes. – “I can tell you from snagging my fingers on the teeth, you can only back out one way and that’s in toward the mouth and then out. It didn’t feel good, I can tell you that.”
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Those teeth can not only catch prey but are also used as bait to lure in prey. The shark's dark brown or greyish skin are a stark contrast to its teeth as “the bright teeth might serve as almost a lure to bring in prey items that see this light color,” Ebert said. He continues explaining- “And by the time they realize, Oh, that’s the teeth of a shark, they’re too close and the shark is able to ambush them at that point. It’s almost like when you drive out of a parking lot exit and they have the spikes sticking out that says, ‘Do not back up’. That’s kind of what happens when these things catch prey items.”
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Frilled sharks mostly eat squids, bony fish, and sometimes even other sharks. Their unusually long jaws enable them to eat prey that are much larger than they are. Once their jaws close on their prey, their spiky teeth make it impossible to escape without being torn to shreds. Their mouths are like a big spiky death trap.
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A Japanese fisherman once caught a frilled shark at the surface of the water in 2007. The shark was then put on display in a marine park in Japan. Unfortunately, it died after only a few hours in captivity showing how fragile these animals are when they are not in their natural environment.
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It's interesting that these animals hold the world record for the longest time it takes for an animal to give birth. Their pregnancy can last up to 42 months. The silver medalist elephant, on the other hand, only needs 18 to 22 months to have a baby. But the shark babies grow inside the mother, and they don't come out until they are ready to live on their own. This way, the younglings that are already well-developed and have a better chance of surviving after they are born.
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Even though the shark is not in danger, the IUCN says that overfishing makes it harder for them to find food. Most of the time, they get caught in fishing nets, which can be dangerous for the species. Frilled shark babies take a long time to grow up, so when female frilled sharks are caught by accident, it can hurt their numbers.