GOBLIN SHARK A Creature from the Deep A prehistoric beast prowls the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan lurking in the inky gloom 800 feet 250 meters beneath the surface Few people have ever seen this bizarre creature alive Ten feet 3 meters long with a knife-like snout Floppy jaws bristling with razor-sharp teeth Rubbery skin that can be as pink as bubble gum Black glassy eyes No wonder the Japanese fishermen who accidentally caught one in 1898 named it tenguzame goblin shark 4
Sensors on the underside of the goblin shark’s snout help it detect prey in the dark ocean depths These spooky sharks have haunted the seas for 125 million years They are the last living species in an ancient group of sharks Their relatives have all gone extinct But goblin sharks are a young species compared with other extreme survivors creatures that are even more ancient and strange EXTREME SURVIVAL SECRETS The goblin shark doesn’t waste energy chasing prey in its deep sea home where food is scarce Instead it lies in wait until prey comes near then shoots its extend able jaws like a slingshot snapping them forward and back in an eye-blink This creates a vacuum that sucks squid fish and other prey into its mouth Needle-like teeth prevent the victim from escaping and the shark swallows its meal whole Gulp
Who Are the EXTREME SURVIVORS Like dinosaurs more than 99 percent of all life forms have gone extinct during the 3.8 billion year history of life on Earth Some were wiped out during mass extinctions caused by asteroid colli sions huge volcanic eruptions and extreme climate changes Many simply disappeared for no reason we’ve been able to discover 6 The impact of a huge asteroid off the Yucatan Peninsula some 65 million years ago may have ended the age of the dinosaurs
Archaeopteryx lived 150 million years ago weighed about 2 pounds 1 kilogram had feathered wings and might have been an intermediate animal in the evolution of dinosaurs into modern birds like the red-footed falcon at right Other prehistoric creatures evolved into very different animals from their early ancestors For example some dinosaurs evolved over millions of years into modern birds But a few strange animals have changed little in outward appearance for more than 100 million years These extreme survivors goblin sharks lungfish horseshoe crabs and a few others look remarkably like their ancient ancestors that scuttled slithered and swam with the dinosaurs Animals and plants that resemble their prehistoric ancestors are sometimes called living fossils but this is a myth All life evolves changing over time in response to the surrounding environment It’s just that some of these changes aren’t obvious Think of a car like a Volkswa gen Beetle It looks almost the same on the outside as it did forty years ago but there are new features such as airbags on the inside What’s so special about extreme survivors besides their prehistoric good looks They give us clues about what life was like in the distant past and how it has changed through time What’s more studying their survival secrets can lead us to new medicines and treatments for disease Solving the mysteries of one extreme survivor could even help us learn how to better protect astronauts develop hardier crops and figure out if and how life could survive on other planets Meeting these bizarre creatures is like zooming backward in a time machine Strap on your seatbelt and get ready for a strange journey 7
