April 10, 2009: Megamouth

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Megamouth Shark got it's name because it's got a big mouth... well duh.

Enchanted Learning says;

The Megamouth shark is a large, slow-swimming, timid shark that was only discovered in 1976. Only 14 examples of this rare species have ever been found, mostly in the Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Indonesia, three Sperm whales were observed attacking a Megamouth shark (the 13th observed megamouth).

However, MSNBC quotes the World Wildlife Fund's response to fishermen in the Philippines accidentally catching one;

one of the rarest fishes in the world with only 40 others recorded to have been encountered, the World Wildlife Fund said Tuesday.

So what did these Filipino fishermen do with this rare fish?
It's an IOtD silly, they ate it.



Enchanted Learning again;

Diet: The Megamouth shark filter-feeds, eating tiny organisms, including zooplankton (like tiny crustaceans) and phytoplankton. It feeds near the surface at night (it is nocturnal), but each day it descends to a depth of 650 ft (200 m).

Anatomy: The Megamouth shark is up to 16.5 feet (5 m) long and weighs about 1,650 pounds (750 kg).

So I guess this shark is only dangerous to itty bitty things... but it would still scare the crap out of me.