The rarely sighted frilled shark - whose ancestry dates back 80 million years and is known as the living fossil - has turned up in waters off southeastern Victoria, Australia.
It was caught on a fishing trawler in waters near Lakes Entrance in the state's Gippsland region.
Simon Boag from the South East Trawl Fishing Association said it was the first time a frilled shark has been sighted in living local memory.
"We couldn't find a fisherman who had ever seen one before," he told local reporters.
"It does look 80 million years old. It looks prehistoric, it looks like it's from another time!"
He said fishermen were left scratching their heads at the sight of the two-metre-long creature, whose head and body resemble an eel, but whose tail is more reminiscent of a shark.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) confirmed it to be a frilled shark, and while the species is known to the scientific community, it was a nonetheless rare and bizarre find for local fishermen.
"It has 300 teeth over 25 rows, so once you're in that mouth, you're not coming out," Mr Boag said.
"Good for dentists, but it is a freaky thing. I don't think you would want to show it to little children before they went to bed."
(telegraph.co.uk)
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