Trawlers have described the incredible moment they caught a scary unusual shark with 300 teeth off the coast of Portugal.
The five-foot-long frilled shark was dubbed a "living fossil" by scientists because of how little it has altered in the previous 80 million years.
It was retrieved from almost 2,000 meters below the water's surface.
An ancient frilled shark found in Portugal
Awashima Marine Park/Getty Images
According to the Portuguese news station SIC Noticias TV, researchers have been working with the EU to reduce the number of bycatches, or undesired captures, as a result of fishing activities.
Frilled sharks have already been moving in the depths since dinosaurs inhabited the Earth, and their massive hinged jaws are effective at grabbing squid and other fish.
Researchers characterized the shark as possessing a "long slender body and a snake-like head" in a statement issued by the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere.
According to Professor Margarida Castro of the University of the Algarve, the shark's 300 teeth "enable it to catch squid, fish, as well as other sharks in quick lunges," as per Daily Star.
Regardless of the fact that frilled sharks have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean near the borders of Australia and Japan, little has been known about the ancient species, according to the statement.
It is unknown why the species has persisted so long, however, it is believed that the frilled shark inspired 19th century mariners' accounts of sea serpents.
Scientists do not know how many frilled sharks exist since they live at deep depths under continual darkness, crushing pressure, and extremely frigid temperatures.
A frilled shark thought to be unwell or injured was sighted near the water's surface in 2007 but perished not long after being moved to a marine park.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature considered the frilled shark to be a species of least concern, although they warn that an increase in deep-sea commercial fishing might increase the number of trawlers that are accidentally brought up.
Frilled sharks, Chlamydoselachus anguineus, are an underwater invertebrate animal sharks that may grow to be 2 m long and are considered to achieve sexual maturity at 1.35 to 1.5 m.
They are dark brown or gray in color above, often lighter below, and also have six pairs of "frilly" gill slits in which the first gill slit is joined under their jaws forming a sort of collar.
Frilled sharks have large, flattened heads with short, rounded snouts.
Their nostrils are vertical apertures split by a leading flap of skin into incurrent and excurrent openings.
The eyes are horizontally oval and somewhat big (similar to a cat's).
They have short tricuspid teeth in both jaws and their mouth is placed at the leading edge of their snout (terminal) rather than below like other sharks.
Their teeth are somewhat widely spaced, with 19-28 teeth in the upper jaw and 21-29 teeth in the lower jaw.
Each tooth has three narrow, needle-like cusps that alternate with two cusplets. In contrast to other sharks, their exceptionally long jaws are positioned terminally (at the end of the snout).
They feature a short lobe-like dorsal fin positioned far back over their pelvic fins, as well as a bigger anal fin than their dorsal fin.
