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Ocean explorers couldn’t believe their luck. The journal Mediterranean Marine Science reported last May that a rare deep-sea shark washed up off the coast of the Greek island of Anafi in 2020. For the first time, an extremely rare goblin shark has been sighted in the Mediterranean. The study has since been corrected. With all the excitement, it is said that it was a plastic toy for children.
The research was based on a photo amateur scientists posted on social media. The image shows an unusually small, gray-blue and remarkably well-preserved goblin shark – an incredible find that researchers can only dream of during their career.
But soon there were doubts about the discovery. “It looks like a regular toy,” Vicky Vásquez, a shark expert at the Pacific Shark Research Center in Monterey, Calif., told The Daily Beast. Twitter sleuths were quick to point out that the shark in the photo bears a striking resemblance to a goblin shark model created by Italian toymaker DeAgostini. Up to the seam on the side of the throat.
Weird floppy nose
A certain Giannis Papadakis is said to have made the find of the century in August 2020. He placed the fish’s carcass on a rock and took the photo, which ended up in the hands of local amateur researchers. Two years later, The Triumph of Marine Scientists appeared – and has since been withdrawn.
As a plastic toy, the goblin shark has therefore been exposed: The gills of the Greek specimen are closed – and the shark in question appears to have only four gill slits, while goblin sharks have five. Also, in the hunting position, its jaw is fully extended and not relaxed, although it has no visible teeth. And the nose is curiously sloping downwards, unlike the characteristic stiff, straight snout of most goblin sharks.
“Alien from the depths” for 11 francs
Also known as the “alien from the deep”, the goblin shark can reach a length of five meters and hunt at depths of more than a kilometer. His teeth in particular are terrifying. It shoots out of the jaws like an alien’s. Fossil finds show that the shark existed in this form 125 million years ago.
The original study of the Greek find can no longer be read online, but the now-deleted excerpt from the goblin shark can still be viewed on a cached website. The goblin plastic shark is available on eBay for just under eleven francs. (kes)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
