Scientists finally filmed a live goblin shark in the wild, and it changes what we know about the species

Goblin sharks have long been one of the ocean’s most elusive creatures, known mostly from specimens accidentally hauled up by fishing gear rather than sightings of them living freely in the deep sea. That has now changed, with researchers confirming the first documented observations of the species alive and healthy in its natural habitat.

The study, published in the Journal of Fish Biology and led by a team from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, describes two separate encounters with goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni): one near a seamount close to Jarvis Island in the Central Pacific, and another along the slope of the Tonga Trench. Previously, every verified sighting of a live goblin shark came only after the animal had been caught by fishing gear and brought to the surface, where it usually did not survive for long.

Goblin sharks are the only living members of a shark family dating back around 125 million years, distinguished by a long, flattened snout and protruding jaws that have made them instantly recognisable despite living at depths that keep them hidden from view.

The Tonga Trench sighting proved especially significant, as it was found nearly 700 metres deeper than the species had ever been recorded, according to lead author Aaron Judah, a doctoral candidate at UH Mānoa’s Deep-Sea Animal Research Center. That depth also set a new record for the entire order of Lamniformes, the mackerel sharks, which includes species such as the great white and mako shark.

Taken together, the two sightings, recorded hundreds of kilometres apart, indicate that goblin sharks range across a far wider portion of the Pacific Ocean than scientists had previously understood.