The goblin shark, Mitsukurina owstoni, is a deep-sea shark, the sole living species in the family Mitsukurinidae. The most distinctive characteristic of the goblin shark is the unorthodox shape of its head. It has a long, trowel-shaped, beak-like rostrum or snout, much longer than other sharks' snouts. Some other distinguishing characteristics of the shark are the color of its body, which is mostly pink, and its long, protrusible jaws. When the jaws are retracted, the shark resembles a pink grey nurse shark, Carcharias taurus, with an unusually long nose. Mitsukurina owstoni is found in the deep ocean, far below where the sun's light can reach at depths greater than 200 m. They can be found throughout the world, from Australia in the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic Ocean. They are best known from the waters around Japan, where the species was first discovered by modern science. Goblin sharks feed on a variety of organisms that live in deep waters. Among some of their known prey are deep-sea squid, crabs and deep-sea fish. Very little is known about the species' life history and reproductive habits, as encounters with them have been relatively rare. As seemingly rare as they are however, there seems to be no real threat to their populations and so they are not classified as endangered species by the IUCN. Goblin sharks are most often encountered as fisheries' bycatch. As they stay near the sea bottom, they are usually caught via deep bottom-set gillnets and sea-bottom long line fishing. They are also sometimes caught by trawling. In addition, they are sometimes found entangled by deep-sea fishing lines. There is a demand by some collectors for the skeletal jaws of goblin sharks. Prices of these jaws range from US$1,500 to US$4,000. In 2003, more than a hundred goblin sharks were caught off the northwest coast of Taiwan, an area in which they have previously not been found. Reportedly, the sharks were caught a short time after an earthquake occurred in the area. In August 2008, a live Goblin Shark was filmed in the wild in Japan by NHK (a short clip was broadcast as part of NHK Tokushuu on 31 August). During the shooting, the goblin shark was shown biting onto a human diver's forearm - however, this scene was staged in order to demonstrate the shark's jaw movements, and goblin sharks basically present no threat to human divers under normal circumstances. [READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE]
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