The frilled shark lives between 390 and 4,200 feet below the surface, making live specimens extremely rare to catch.

Sic Noticias NewsThe ruffled shark caught by the research squad .

researcher aboard a Lusitanian trawler off the Algarve seashore have caught a rare frilled shark , which scientists have dubbed a “ subsist fogy . ”

allot toSIC Notícias , the researchers wereworkingon a European Union project to “ minimise undesirable catches in commercial sportfishing , ” when the five - metrical unit - long snake - like Pisces found its way of life into their net .

Frilled Shark

Sic Noticias NewsThe frilled shark caught by the research team.

The catch was a surprisal for more than one reason .

The frilled shark , which scientists called a “ living fossil , ” has been around since the Cretaceous Period , which was around 65.5 million age ago . Even more shocking , they said , was the fact that it hasn’tevolvedat all since then .

The Pisces the Fishes also lives between 390 and 4,200 feet below the surface , make catching live specimen specially rarified . cogitation have ascribe the want of evolution to the deficiency of nutrient in its deep - sea habitat , and the fact that its diet has n’t commute either . Since its starting signal on earth , the frilled shark has wipe out mostly cephalopods .

Frilled shark have been catch in the past , but this catch nock the first one a unrecorded one has been caught in a long fourth dimension . Most of the specimens do n’t last long enough to get to research labs , resulting in small info being known about the mintage .

The catch is an authoritative one for researcher , as it can help contribute to the limited knowledge they have on the shark .

According to Professor Margarida Castro of the University of the Algarve , the shark gets its name from the ruffled transcription of its teeth . Inside the fish ’s mouth are neatly arrange wrangle of razor penetrating dentition , design to grab and pin down calamary . According toMental Floss , the name could also come from the frilled appearing of the shark lamella scratch .

The ruffled shark is often visit the “ giant of the cryptical , ” and according to Samuel Garman , the first scientist to examine the shark , that ’s a good name . It ’s believed that the fish ’s snake - like appearing and movements are what instigate old sailor ’ tales of sea monster .

Next , read about theGreenland shark , the world ’s oldest living craniate . Then , read about how researching the Greenland shark ’s genes couldlead to a longer lifespan for human .