A ‘sea monster’ was pulled from the depths off the coast of Australia by fisherman who was surprised when he dragged in a shark with beady eyes and a human-like smile.
The shark appeared to have rough, charcoal-colored skin and a small mouth with tiny sharp teeth lining the top and bottom.
The image of the dead creature was shared on Facebook, sparking several theories as to what kind of shark it is – some suggest it was a cookiecutter or goblin shark.
Dean Grubbs, associate director of research at the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory told Newsweek, that it looks like a gulper shark.
The shark was caught by fisherman Trapnman Bermagui on September 12.
He reeled the nightmarish fish to his boat from more than 2,000 feet below the surface off the coast of New South Wales, Live Science reports.
Trapnman Bermagui shared a picture of the lifeless creature on Facebook, which has collected more than 1,000 likes and sparked several theories about what kind of shark it was.
Several users posted that it was a cookiecutter shark, due to the small mouth and tiny, sharp teeth.
Others were amazed by the look of the sea monster, some saying it gave them ‘the major creeps.’
And a few people suggested it was a prehistoric creature.
But Fisher told Newsweek it is ‘totally not a cookiecutter,’ but is a rough skin shark that is also known as gulper shark.
This species is found in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and parts of the Pacific.
According to the Shark Research Institute, this shark has smooth skin, but the one recently caught had skin that looked like sandpaper.
This could be due to the shark being dead.
This species is also identifiable by its short first dorsal fin and the second positioned higher than other sharks.
Males can grow up to 2.6 feet long, while females can measure up to three feet long.
And the gulper shark is critically endangered regionally around Australia.
The sharks are a hot commodity by fisheries that use their oil and meat.
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