An illustration of a goblin shark, showing the trowel-shaped head.

Description Mitsukurina owstoni
Date 2006
Author Alessio Marrucci
URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mitsukurinaowstoni.jpg

The goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) is a rare species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil", it is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old. This pink-skinned animal has a distinctive profile with an elongated, flattened snout, and highly protrusible jaws containing prominent nail-like teeth. It is usually between 3 and 4 m long when mature, though it can grow considerably larger. Goblin sharks inhabit upper continental slopes, submarine canyons, and seamounts throughout the world at depths greater than 100 m, with adults found deeper than juveniles. Order: Lamniformes, Family: Mitsukurinidae, Genus: Mitsukurina, Species: Mitsukurina owstoni D. S. Jordan, 1898.
Synonyms
Odontaspis nasutus Bragança, 1904
Scapanorhynchus dofleini Engelhardt, 1912
Scapanorhynchus jordani Hussakof, 1909
Scapanorhynchus mitsukurii White, 1937