Goblin Shark

The goblin shark has a distinctively long and flat snout, resembling a blade. The proportional length of the snout decreases with age. The eyes are small and lack protective nictitating membranes; behind the eyes are spiracles. The large mouth is parabolic in shape. The jaws are very protrusible and can be extended almost to the end of the snout, though normally held flush against the underside of the head. It has 35–53 upper and 31–62 lower tooth rows. The teeth in the main part of the jaws are long and narrow, particularly those near the symphysis (jaw midpoint), and are finely grooved lengthwise. The rear teeth near the corners of the jaw are small and have a flattened shape for crushing. Much individual variation of tooth length and width occurs, as for whether the teeth have a smaller cusplet on each side of the main cusp, and regarding the presence of toothless gaps at the symphysis or between the main and rear teeth. The five pairs of gill slits are short, with the gill filaments inside partly exposed; the fifth pair is above the origin of the pectoral fins. The body is fairly slender and flabby. The two dorsal fins are similar in size and shape – both being small and rounded. The pectoral fins are also rather small and rounded. …

The goblin shark has been caught in all three major oceans, indicating a wide global distribution. In the Atlantic Ocean, it has been recorded from the northern Gulf of Mexico, Suriname, French Guiana, and southern Brazil in the west, and France, Portugal, Madeira, and Senegal in the east. It has also been collected from seamounts along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the Indo-Pacific and Oceania, it has been found off of the coasts of South Africa, Mozambique, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. This species has been recorded from off East Cape to Kaikōura Canyon and from the Challenger Plateau near New Zealand. A single eastern Pacific specimen is known, collected off southern California. This species is most often found over the upper continental slope at depths of 270–960 m (890–3,150 ft). It has been caught as deep as 1,300 m (4,300 ft), a tooth has been found lodged in an undersea cable at a depth of 1,370 m (4,490 ft). It has been sighted as deep as 2,000 m (6,600 ft). Adults inhabit greater depths than juveniles. Immature goblin sharks frequent the submarine canyons off southern Japan at depths of 100–350 m (330–1,150 ft), with individuals occasionally wandering into inshore waters as shallow as 40 m (130 ft).

Although observations of living goblin sharks are scant, its anatomy suggests an inactive and sluggish lifestyle. Its skeleton is reduced and poorly calcified, the muscle blocks along its sides (myomeres) are weakly developed, and its fins are soft and small. Its long caudal fin, held at a low angle, is also typical of a slow-swimming shark. The long snout appears to have a sensory function, as it bears numerous ampullae of Lorenzini that detect weak electric fields produced by other animals. Due to the snout's softness, it is unlikely to be used for stirring up prey from the bottom as has been proposed. Vision seems to be less important than other senses, considering the relatively small optic tectum in the shark's brain. Yet unlike most deep-sea sharks, it can change the size of its pupils, thus probably does use sight in some situations. Goblin sharks may be the prey of blue sharks (Prionace glauca). Parasites documented from this species include the copepod Echthrogaleus mitsukurinae, and the tapeworms Litobothrium amsichensis and Marsupiobothrium gobelinus.

Feeding. The goblin shark feeds mainly on deep-sea teleost fishes such as rattails and dragonfishes. It also eats cephalopods and crustaceans, including decapods and isopods. Garbage has been recorded from the stomachs of some specimens. …