10 freaky-looking sharks that actually exist
The rarely seen megamouth shark can live 100 years and resides thousands of feet below the surface — but it rises up at night to snack on tiny plankton.
Though they are almost never seen and don't get to be much larger than 6 feet, the frilled shark certainly looks like it could be responsible for tales of ancient sea monsters — check out those rows of teeth!
This teeny tiny pocket shark, discovered last year, is just the second one ever found.
Source: Business Insider
The spotted wobbegong shark is a carpet shark that hangs out on the Australian sea floor. Locals often use it for fish and chips, but careful not to step on one!
Source: University of Florida
The big-mouthed basking shark is intimidating because of its size, but it's mostly just cruising the surface for a meal of plankton. It gets its name because it often appears to be "basking" in the sun.
Source: University of Florida
While this "chimaera" belongs to a family that technically diverged from true sharks 400 million years ago, it's still known as a ghost shark.
Source: University of Florida
We don't know a ton about the long-snouted goblin shark, which we think normally grows to about 12 feet (though an 18-foot specimen has been found before), but we think these deep-dwellers subsist on squid, octopus, and shrimp — and they push those odd jaws out to feed.
Source: University of Florida
The bonnethead shark (also known as a shovelhead) is the smallest member of the hammerhead family. These creatures prefer to eat crabs and other crustaceans, and they take advantage of their wide field of vision to keep an eye out all around them.
Source: Aquarium of the Pacific
This little smooth lanternshark is one of the smallest sharks out there (though it has even smaller cousins). They may be found as far as 2,000 meters deep.
Finally, the whale shark. The largest fish in the sea is another plankton eater. They're a vulnerable species but are found in tropical and temperate waters all over the world, with some tagged specimens journeying thousands of miles.
Source: University of Florida
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