First-ever deep-sea footage captures a 'living fossil' goblin shark at 6,560 feet

Scientists have gotten their first look at an extremely rare goblin shark alive in its own habitat, moving through dark water nearly 6,560 feet beneath the ocean's surface.

According to a report from Live Science, researchers logged two live goblin shark sightings in the Pacific Ocean — one off Jarvis Island and the other near the Tonga Trench. 

While the shark species has been caught and hauled to the surface on fishing lines in the past, these two sightings mark the first time it has been spotted alive on camera. 

Those observations push the species' known range into the Central Pacific, and the deeper sighting was around 2,300 feet below the previous record for a goblin shark.

The goblin shark is recognizable by its elongated snout and jaws that can shoot forward to seize prey, and it is often called a "living fossil" because its lineage dates back about 125 million years.

Study co-author Alan Jamieson, director of the Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Centre, said in a statement: "The goblin shark is a deep-sea charismatic animal, and I never thought we'd see one alive."

Study first author Aaron Judah, a doctoral student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, explained the significance of the expanded range. 

"Given the newly expanded geographic range of the goblin shark, this species can be included in regional management and a nation's biodiversity list," Judah said in a statement.

As Live Science reported, Jamieson emphasized just how unlikely the encounter was. 

"On that expedition we filmed over 50 days of continuous footage between depths of 800 and 10,800 metres [2,600 to 35,400 feet] and this observation was a little over 20 seconds long which is [a] testament to how elusive this species is, and how special it is to have two observations in the same study," he said. 

Judah struck a similar note of wonder, saying, "New discoveries like this demonstrate that there is still so much to explore in our deep ocean home."

Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.