Not the deepest first post in the history of Metafilter, but this thing really blew my shit. posted by nathancaswell at 5:02 PM on January 24, 2007
That's one freaky lookin' fish. I want one! I want one! posted by brundlefly at 5:07 PM on January 24, 2007
It is one badass looking fish, but in the video it doesn't look well at all. I bet healthy ones are pretty quick swimmers given the length and muscles on its body. posted by bhouston at 5:12 PM on January 24, 2007
My son and I just watched that this morning on the Reuters feed... He's fascinated by prehistoric-looking creatures, and this one definitely fits the bill. posted by amyms at 5:14 PM on January 24, 2007
Man, that is weird looking. The way it swims looks so odd too. You'd think from the way it looks that it would swim like an eel, moving its whole body, but in the video the middle of the torso stays in place while the tail fin propels it. Maybe it's because it wasn't doing so good.
And surely it eats decomposing sharks, or smaller, deep-sea sharks. But not great whites...right? posted by kosher_jenny at 5:17 PM on January 24, 2007
I saw the news report on tv yesterday and they said that it died only a few hours after being taken into captivity. posted by peacay at 5:22 PM on January 24, 2007
That is incredible. Exactly like something out of a kid's dinosaur book. And this species was just rarely seen rather then newly discovered? I'd never heard of it. I think the frilled shark needs a new PR agent. posted by gspm at 5:24 PM on January 24, 2007
The CNN article and the Wikipedia entry mention that marine biologists suspect the reason it came so close to the surface was because it was sick and perhaps disoriented.
Kosher_Jenny, yeah I just picked the two gnarliest shark photos that came up on a Google image search. It made it scarier. Forgive my editorializing. posted by nathancaswell at 5:26 PM on January 24, 2007
Think of it like a shark in a tuxedo shirt; he ain't sacry that motherfucker was stylin'. posted by The Straightener at 5:27 PM on January 24, 2007
"It made it scarier."
You needed to make it scarier? I'll never swim again. Or take a bath, even. posted by Samsonov14 at 5:31 PM on January 24, 2007
That's it, I'm not swimming at depths of 120 to 1,400 meters EVER AGAIN. posted by mullingitover at 5:54 PM on January 24, 2007 [2 favorites]
This was an awesome piece of information...the first fifteen times I saw it on every website on the intarweb over the past day or two. posted by nightchrome at 5:57 PM on January 24, 2007
It looks like a giant grey sperm with rows and rows of sharp, chompy teeth. posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:02 PM on January 24, 2007
Eek! Kinda reminds me (in a creepy, decomposing eel sort of way) of the giant oarfish at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
Last time I was there (about 20 years ago), I was a special guest of the museum curator and got to see lots of cool, creepy stuff, like a freshwater thresher shark in a walk-in freezer. And, oh yeah, I almost backed into--and knocked the head off of--a mummy in a storage room! Shades of Raiders of the Lost Ark, there. posted by retronic at 6:02 PM on January 24, 2007
It's worth noting that aside from domesticated animals, every animal looks the way their prehistoric grandparents did. A couple of thousand years isn't very significant on an evolutionary timescale. posted by furtive at 6:09 PM on January 24, 2007
It looks like a giant grey sperm with rows and rows of sharp, chompy teeth.
And that is odd how? posted by tkchrist at 6:17 PM on January 24, 2007
My son and I just watched that this morning on the Reuters feed... He's fascinated by prehistoric-looking creatures, and this one definitely fits the bill.
Then he would LOVE video of my Uncle Daryl at this New Years Polar Bear swim. We call him the Ve-sloppy-raptor. posted by tkchrist at 6:26 PM on January 24, 2007
It looks like a giant grey sperm with rows and rows of sharp, chompy teeth.
that's what she said. posted by pruner at 6:28 PM on January 24, 2007
Given the sudden huge uptick in strange sea-creature sightings in Japan, one wonders if some enterprising fishermen started some sort of lucrative relationship with a news bureau. The reports say that the fisherman "alerted the authorities;" I have an odd feeling that the authorities have announced that it'd be worth your while if you can find these things.
This is interesting. Thanks. posted by koeselitz at 6:36 PM on January 24, 2007
if theres one shark that deserves a laser, this is that shark. posted by fidgets at 6:37 PM on January 24, 2007
This species of prehistoric shark was filmed this week by marine park staff in Japan.
Are there any shark species that aren't prehistoric? posted by squalor at 6:39 PM on January 24, 2007
Are there any shark species that aren't prehistoric?
Is there ANY species in Japan that aren't prehistoric? What with the Megalon, the Ghidorah and the Godzilla and all. posted by tkchrist at 6:44 PM on January 24, 2007
Are there any shark species that aren't prehistoric?
like the wife said when I showed here this... "shoot it!" posted by HuronBob at 7:32 PM on January 24, 2007
Good post. I enjoyed the random great whites thrown in for good measure. I wonder though if there are any images showing direct similarities between this creature and anything discovered in the past 100 yrs. posted by rubyeyo at 7:49 PM on January 24, 2007
What a beautiful creature. It figures that the first response of the Japanese was "Capture it and stick it in a tank." I wish it would have bitten the head off of one of the observers first. Just for scientific observation purposes, you know. posted by Liosliath at 8:04 PM on January 24, 2007 [1 favorite]
And that is odd how?
It's larger than mine. But I haven't been taking my supplements lately, so most women would probably be unsatisfied with my volume, distance, and toothedness. posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:26 PM on January 24, 2007
What a beautiful creature. It figures that the first response of the Japanese was "Capture it and stick it in a tank." I wish it would have bitten the head off of one of the observers first. Just for scientific observation purposes, you know.
posted by Liosliath at 8:04 PM PST on January 24 [+]
[!]
Well, at least this time it wasn't "capture it, stick it in a tank, and then after it dies see what it tastes like" like with the Giant Squid. posted by kosher_jenny at 9:30 PM on January 24, 2007
Wait, they ate the giant squid? posted by nathancaswell at 9:34 PM on January 24, 2007
Mmm. Shark. It's what's for dinner. posted by grapefruitmoon at 11:41 PM on January 24, 2007
here's a healthy fringed shark swimming, and a better look at those neat teeth. posted by progosk at 3:31 AM on January 25, 2007
"Goblin Shark":...most likely by sensing the presence of prey with electro-sensitive organs in the beak, suddenly protruding the jaws, creating a sucking motion with a tongue-like muscle, and using the teeth to hold onto the victim.
PS. I just bit our my own mother-fucking tongue in sheer terror. posted by tkchrist at 12:21 PM on January 25, 2007
Given the sudden huge uptick in strange sea-creature sightings in Japan, one wonders if…
…there's a really big problem in our oceans, and these strange creatures are being driving into shallow waters by hunger or environmental changes? posted by five fresh fish at 11:31 PM on January 25, 2007
And surely it eats decomposing sharks, or smaller, deep-sea sharks. But not great whites...right?
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posted by nathancaswell at 5:02 PM on January 24, 2007