LONDON: Australian fishermen off the coast of New South Wales were shocked when they hauled a goblin shark said to be one of the most rarest shark species alive.
The shark is known as a “living dinosaur” and a “vampire shark” as they are usually found near the ocean floor at around 1,200 metres deep.
Fisherman Lochlainn Kelly, 22, pulled up the haul. According to Stuff.co.nz, he said he was “more excited than frightened”, adding: “We just winched up the wire and brought the net on and the shark was in the net.
“I wasn’t [freaked out], if anything I was pretty excited. I’ve seen photos of them before but I’ve never seen one before.”
Pictures of the shark have been uploaded on Twitter.
The fishermen took the shark to be examined by Michael McMaster and Alan Scrymgeour at the Wharf Aquarium.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Mr Scrymgeour said the shark belonged to an “evolutionary dead end” being the only species in its genus, which stopped evolving around 70 million years ago, during the dinosaur era.
