'Horrific' frilled shark makes waves in Australia

(Image credit: Pool/Getty Images)

A "living fossil" sounds cool in theory, but this frilled shark had fishermen terrified when a net caught one off Australia's coast.

The frilled shark's roots go all the way back to 80 million years ago, and almost all of the species' closest relatives are extinct. Seeing a frilled shark is a rare experience, but thanks to 25 rows of needle-like teeth, it's also quite a frightening one:

Iframe Code

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

View image | gettyimages.com

"The head on it was like something out of a horror movie," fisherman David Guillot told Australia's 3AW radio. "It was quite horrific looking."

The South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association announced the find, adding that Guillot is the only person the group is aware of to ever catch a frilled shark.

"It's a freaky thing," Simon Boag, the chief executive officer at the South East Trawl Fishing Association, told Australia's ABC Rural. "I don't think you would want to show it to little children before they went to bed."

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.