What does a goblin shark eat? This story will take you to this creature's diet later but first let us know some interesting information about goblin sharks.
One of the most unusual looking sharks in the world, the goblin shark is a deep sea shark which is found in almost all oceans around the planet. It is also known as Mitsukurina owstoni because it was first found in the Sagami sea near Japan in 1897.
The name Mitsukurina comes from the Japanese zoologist Kakichi Mitsukuri who helped bring this weird looking fish to America for further research. One look at the goblin shark and you will be reminded of ancient sea creatures of the pre-historic age. It's unique unorthodox head has a long trowel shaped beak.
Another unique feature of this shark is its pink body and its long protrusible jaws. Even though they have been spotted in almost every ocean on this planet not much is known about goblin sharks because they dwell in deep waters.
Reports suggest that you will not find goblin sharks unless you go almost 500 to 700 meters deep into the ocean. Here we try to uncover all the information that is there about this mysterious sea animal, and let's start with its diet.
Goblin Shark Diet
Their diet is pretty similar to other sharks which include small fish, squid, cephalopods, octopi, crustaceans and deep sea rock fish. Like all the other sharks the goblin uses its electro sensitive organs to sense its prey.
This electro sensitivity is extremely important to the goblin sharks as there's no sunlight in such deep waters hence such senses help them track down their prey. One of the most interesting goblin shark facts is that they eat frequently and have a very large liver which are usually found in other sharks which do not feed often.
Their liver serves as storage for oil which helps them live in between their feedings. Goblin sharks have a very interesting way of attacking their prey, when they come near their prey the goblin shark pushes its jaw out in a similar way humans pull out their tongue, then they suck in their prey after which their powerful teeth does the finishing job.
Goblin Shark Information
Now that its diet is exposed, let's uncover every minor detail about this scary looking shark that most people still don't know about. It grows to a length of 3.8 meters and has a flabby body, it never comes to the places where there is sunlight and prefers to stay in dark waters.
There are almost 50 species of goblin sharks and even this number is not yet confirmed due to lack of information about this shark. Other than Japan, goblins sharks are found in New Zealand, Gulf of Mexico, Indian Ocean and Southern Africa. Almost everything about the goblin shark's body shows the tough conditions of the deep waters.
It's muscles are soft which suggest that the goblin is a lazy swimmer and spends most of the time resting. They are rarely seen which makes people believe that they are low in numbers but these sharks prefer dwelling on sea floors and in the darkness. This behavior has also earned them the name of "Vampire Sharks".
Nothing is known about their reproduction cycle as a pregnant goblin shark has never been found or caught. It's presumed that females let their eggs hatch inside and they give birth to live young sharks.
In 2004, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) gave the species of goblin shark the "Least Concerned" tag. This is because of the rare human encounters with this fish and so there's no fear of extinction.
Hope this story on what does a goblin shark eat was resourceful. If you are thinking how dangerous are goblin sharks for humans, I would say not much as not a single incident has been reported of a goblin shark bite till date.