🦈 First natural images of a goblin shark

The goblin shark, with its elongated snout and jaws capable of projecting forward, seemed to exist only in fishermen's tales or aquariums. Yet two recent expeditions in the central Pacific have, for the first time, recorded this 125 million-year-old predator in its natural habitat.

In fact, the first observation dates back to 2019, but it went unnoticed until 2025. During a mission of the Nautilus, a remotely operated underwater vehicle filmed a goblin shark near a seamount off Jarvis Island. It was only after examining these publicly archived images that Aaron Judah, from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, confirmed the animal's identity.


As for the second encounter, it took place in 2024 in the Tonga Trench, at a record depth: nearly 2,300 feet (700 m) deeper than what was known for the species. A camera attached to a baited trap captured the animal's passage, demonstrating that these sharks can live much deeper than previously imagined.

These discoveries significantly expand the goblin shark's range, previously limited to a few areas of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. Finding it in the central Pacific shows that our knowledge of the deep sea remains incomplete.


For scientists, these observations are not mere curiosities. They allow the species to be included in regional biodiversity lists and to adopt appropriate management measures. As Aaron Judah recalls, every new exploration of the abyss holds surprises, and this ghostly shark has not finished revealing its peculiarities.