Rare deep-sea goblin sharks filmed in natural habitat for first time
Phys.org • • science
Key Points:
- A University of Hawai'i at Mānoa-led team has published the first live observations of the rare goblin shark in its natural deep-ocean habitat, documenting sightings near Jarvis Island and the Tonga Trench slope.
- These observations extend the known depth range of goblin sharks by nearly 700 meters, setting a new depth record for the Lamniformes order, which includes species like the white shark and mako shark.
- The study significantly broadens the geographic range of the goblin shark, previously thought to inhabit only narrow regions off the coasts of the western U.S., Australia, Japan, and parts of the Atlantic and Indian oceans, with new sightings in the central Pacific.
- The discoveries were made by analyzing archived footage from a 2019 expedition near Jarvis Island and a 2024 expedition to the Tonga Trench, highlighting the importance of deep-sea natural history research.
- Researchers emphasize that these findings enable better regional management and biodiversity recognition for the goblin shark, underscoring the vast unexplored diversity of deep-ocean ecosystems.