Mysterious 80million-year-old shark species caught off Portuguese coast
A REAL life sea monster “from the age of the dinosaurs” has caused waves in the scientific world after being caught off the Algarve coast. The Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere have now dubbed the shark a “living fossil” as the species dates back 80 million years.
According to the Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere, the captured shark measured 1.5 m in length and was swimming off the Algarve coast.
The shark has a long, slim, snakelike body, but other than it is odd appearance little is known about it. This is because they are so rare they have not been caught. When they do they often don’t reach research labs. The shark gets its name from the frilled arrangement of its 300 teeth, this allows it to trap squid, fish and other sharks in sudden lunges.
It is though the frilled shark, with its snakelike movements, may have inspired sailors’ stories of sea serpents.
The shark usually lives in the Atlantic and in waters near Australia, New Zealand and Japan, as reported by the BBC. At such depths the shark is in constant darkness, crushing pressure and extremely cold temperatures.
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