Prehistoric Shark

Little is known about this living fossil since few have been seen alive. That's why the sighting early this year of a live one has continued to be the subject of interests with videos on the internet still receiving a considerable number of hits and viewers. The animal in question is the Chlamydoselachus anguineus or most commonly called as the frilled shark.

The frilled shark is known to be distributed worldwide but most of their population is known to be concentrated in the oceans and seas near Norway, South Africa, New Zealand, and Chile. Frilled sharks are deep water animals and are found at depths of between 120 meters and 1,500 meters. However, there are rare occasions that the animal surfaces into shallow waters were it gets caught by fishermen's nets and trawlers.

The sharks are called "frilled" because of their characteristically large, softly feathered on the outer edges, and almost encircling the head gill slits. Estimated to be 40-60cm when born, the frilled sharks can grow to about 2 meters long.

When observed in the open waters, the frilled shark looks pretty much as dark brown or grey eel. The six gill slits on its head, however, give it away as a shark. Take note, however, that other sharks have five sets of gills. But aside from the gills, the shark is more of an eel-like creature with small dorsal fin which at times is highly unnoticeable, the large anal fin, and the asymmetric caudal or tail fin.

When viewed head-on, the shark is as scary as any white shark. The very large mouth that can be opened very wide and the dinosaur-like appearance make it look like a creature from a sci-fi or horror movie. And faced with such a creature, it is not comforting to know that the wide mouth and the finely pointed teeth are made form swallowing whole prey.

And like most sharks, the frilled sharks are equipped with small, three-pointed, yet very sharp teeth which are adept for hunting. The shark's main course in the deep seas are mostly squids, other deep sea bony fishes and and other sharks species. Although the frilled sharks are said to be aggressive predators, they are known to be harmless to humans.

Evolution has changed very little in the appearance of the frilled shark. Most probably because they have been living in the depths of the world's oceans where Mother Nature seemed to have stopped time or made it into slow motion. The thing that links frilled sharks to long-extinct species are the slinky shape and an upper jaw that is part of its skull. In contrast, most of the other living sharks have hinged top jaws.

Nevertheless, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) classified the living fossil as one of the near threatened species in the world. This means that the frilled shark will very soon become a threatened specie altogether. The Chlamydoselachus anguineus is the only living species in the Family Chlamydoselachidae.