#Megachasma

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

hi, have you done megamouth sharks :)

Not yet!

Second photo thanks to the University of Florida.

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Trick or Treat!

Open wide! You get a megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios)!

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned what is the most recent large animal to be discovered

Photo taken aboard the Navy vessel AFB-14, sailing off the coast of Kaneohe, Hawai'i. It's November 15, 1976.

Sea anchors are being hoisted , when you see something tangled up in the device..

It's a shark, and a huge shark.

This is the bigmouth shark (Megachasma pelagios).

These fish can grow very large - although not as impressive as, for example, a whale shark or a basking shark, large mouth sharks can grow to almost 6 meters in length.

It is impressive that these alien-looking sharks were able to remain hidden for so long.

Most of the huge creatures of the deep, such as sperm whales, scorpionfish, giant and colossal squids, etc., have long been known to scientists, albeit rather poorly. Scientists have long known about most deep sea creatures, even if not in detail. We've had carcasses that were washed ashore, specimens caught in nets and, in the case of the sperm whale, we've been hunting them for thousands of years.

Also, it's not like megamouths are super cunning and sneaky. They are relatively poor swimmers, even in deep water, and most of the time just float through the water column, sifting sea plankton into their cavernous mouths. Their bodies are flabby and fragile , such that sperm whales destroy them.

You'd expect such a poor swimmer to take to land all the time, but no. In 2018, fewer than 99 whale mega-specimens were recorded, most of which were carcasses washed ashore or entangled in nets.

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[shark-of-tha-day]

megamouth shark?

shark of the day: megamouth shark, megachasma pelagios

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megamouth sharks are the smallest of the three filterfeeding sharks, though they are still fairly large. they can grow to be around 7 metres(~23 ft) long. megamouth sharks are found in deep tropical and temperate waters around the world. they feed on primarily plankton and shrimp.

[pleistocene-pride]

Megachasma pelagios better known as the megamouth shark is a species of large and unusual deepwater shark which is the only member of its family megachasmidae, and are native to the pacific, atlantic, and Indian oceans. These sharks typically spend the day at up to of 3,300ft (1,000m) in depth, but follow the nightly vertical migration of plankton towards the surface where they cruise at around 40 to 80ft (12 to 25m). Like the other two planktivorous sharks, it swims with its mouth wide open, filtering water for plankton and jellyfish. Reaching up to 18ft (5.5m) in length and 2,680lbs (1,215kgs) in weight, megamouth sharks sport a distinctive appearance with a stout but flabby body and an asymmetrical tail with a long upper lobe, similar to that of the thresher shark. Megamouth sharks are dark blue, brownish-black, or gray above, lighter below; with a white band along the upper jaw; while the posterior margin of its fins are white. The head is long, wide, and bulbous with a broad rounded snout. As their name implies, megamouths have a large mouth with 50 rows of small teeth on the upper jaw and 75 rows of teeth on the lower jaw, the protruding inside of the upper lip is a brilliant silvery-white, which is very visible when the mouth is open. The breeding habits of the megamouth shark is currently known. However it its known that this species is ovoviviparous, meaning that the young sharks develop in eggs that remain within the mother's body until they hatch. It is believed that megamouths live around 50 years.

[sharkest-sharks]

Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezii) | Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios)

[sharkshowdown]

And now to meet our contestants.

On one side, the name of this filter feeder is very much accurate. On the other, this shark has a really long tail. Who will win?

Some facts:

Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios): from the 3 filter feeder species we have, the Megamouth is the smallest one. It's also not closely related to the other two. They grow up to 5,49 meters (18ft). There's not much humans know about this shark, since they're a very rare deepwater species.

Thresher Shark (genus: alopias): The thresher shark is fast and has a very fun big tail, used as a whip to hit prey and stun them. The largest species, Alopias vulpinus, can reach up to 6,1 meters (20ft). They're pretty shy and not a danger to humans. They're fished a lot for the challenge of it's speed and strenght.

[shark-shark-shark-shark-shar]

Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios)

[newsnoshonline]

L'incontro sorprendente con lo squalo megamouth al largo di Zanzibar Un’emozionante scoperta ha portato alla luce uno squalo megamouth (Megachasma pelagios) recentemente avvistato per la prima volta in Africa orientale. Questo esemplare è stato catturato e venduto in un mercato di Zanzibar, suscitando un grande interesse. Rhett H. Bennett della Wildlife Conservation Society fornisce dettagli sul significato di questa scoperta unica. Cos’è lo squalo megamouth […]

[whaleposters]

Large sharks of the World art print poster. Available at cetek.etsy.com.

[cptnbeefheart]

sometimes i just think about her (psuedo megachasma)

[unofficial-sean]

Megamouth Shark Plushie

[todropscience]

The megamouth shark (Lamniformes: Megachasmidae) has sporadic occurrences both in the present-day oceans and in the fossil record. In 2016, scientists describe a new megamouth  species: Megachasma alisonae; on the basis of a morphologically distinct fossil tooth collected from the late Eocene (60~ mya) from Søvind Marl Formation at Moesgård Strand in Denmark, that represents the geologically oldest known Megachasma known species.

Reference (Open Access): Shimada & Ward. 2016. The oldest fossil record of the megamouth shark from the late Eocene of Denmark, and comments on the enigmatic megachasmid origin. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, in press.

[mercerspoems]

Top Ten Sharks #5 - The Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios

Top Ten Sharks #5 - The Megamouth Shark, Megachasma pelagios - Not a lot of info on this hidden filter-feeder! Why is it so high on the list then? Because of what it tell us about what we don't know!

The elusive and mysterious megamouth shark, one of only three known filter-feeding species of shark and the one least known to us. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons via Australian Geographic) To start with, that Latin name! Megachasma pelagios – If I’m not getting my tongue twisted does that not translate as ‘giant cave of the deep’? Anyway, I’ll be honest, I know next to sod all about the megamouth…

[sixth-extinction]

Half dissected head of a megamouth shark at the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan, Japan.