last night, we actually saw some shark week programming that was not 100% completely assy and lame. in fact, i twas pretty damn cool. also, it provided yet another item on the list of “reasons to move to seattle”: six gill sharks swarm the waters at night. fuck yeah.
anyway, friday’s shark of the day is: the goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni).
size: up to 11 ft. / up to 350 lbs.
habitat: deep-water shark usually found near the sea bottom, at depths of around 250 m.
prey: deep-sea squid, crabs and fishes (NOT harmful to humans!!!)
fun facts: the goblin shark has a soft, flabby body, is colored bubblegum pink, and has a peculiar, blade-like snout overhanging long, highly protrusible jaws bristling with slender, fang-like teeth. the color is not due to pink pigments in the skin, however, but largely due to oxygenated blood in capillaries (tiny blood vessels) close to the body surface and visible through the translucent dermis.
you can check out more goblin shark awesomeness here.
