Frilled Shark- A Living Fossil

[anam_moon]

Fiannagalliard should not check this out.

What a fascinating creature. It is so alien looking. The depths of the ocean still hold so many secret wonders.

Comments

[ladysashi.livejournal.com]

THAT IS SO COOL!

I've never even heard of this species before! Oooh... time to do some research!

*rubs hands together gleefully*

Thanks for the link, Anam!

Oooh... how sad!

[ladysashi.livejournal.com]

That shark died soon after that video was taken...

"The fish was identified as a female 1.6 m frilled shark and was captured by park staff who were concerned that the shark appeared to be unhealthy. The shark died a few hours after capture. This rare surface appearance of a frilled shark has been attributed to the animal being unwell and possibly disorientated."

According to the various websites dedicated to this species, they live in deep ocean waters, and can stay pregnant for 1-2 years! Like most sharks, they bear live young, too.

Re: Oooh... how sad!

[anam-moon.livejournal.com]

According to what I've found online they believe that she was up at that ocean level that she could be caught in a net because she was ill. So it sounds like she had reached the end of her fishy life. I'm sure she lived a fine life in her deep ocean depths.

Re: Oooh... how sad!

[anam-moon.livejournal.com]

"deep ocean depths" Hehehe...how redundant. ;)

[anam-moon.livejournal.com]

My one manager, Chris mentioned it to me at work the other day and I just remembered last night that I had meant to check it out. I've never heard of that species of shark before either.

[evanesse.livejournal.com]

Awesome link! I love looking at the diversity inhabiting our amazing planet. Thanks! :)

[anam-moon.livejournal.com]

Me too. That animal is awesome looking, it makes me think of Jormungand from Nordic Mythology.

[evanesse.livejournal.com]

I had to look up Jormungand, of course, but now that I know, and now that I Googled a bunch of art images of him, I can totally understand why. When I first saw this creature, it looked to me like a cross between a fish and a lizard, and the serpent of Midgard is depicted as both a giant eel-like creature and a dragon in the art that I saw. Wikipedia had a neat little blurb about one of the events that will happen at Ragnarok that I really liked: "Jörmungandr, the Midgard serpent, and Loki's other monstrous offspring will rise from the deep ocean bed to proceed towards the land, twisting and writhing in fury on their way, causing the seas to rear up and lash against the land. With every breath, the serpent will spew venom, staining the earth and the sky in poison." Crazy cool. See, you're already teaching me stuff! Thank you! :) It makes me wonder if one of these little sharks ever came up to the surface during the time of the Vikings as a result of also being ill and inspired the myth.

[anam-moon.livejournal.com]

See, you're already teaching me stuff! Thank you! :)

You are very welcome! I took the mythology class that Ohlone offers years ago and really enjoyed learning the Norse Mythology. The events that are to take place during Ragnarok are especially interesting.

It makes me wonder if one of these little sharks ever came up to the surface during the time of the Vikings as a result of also being ill and inspired the myth.

That's an interesting theory!