---
title: "What the sources say about the Goblin Shark | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "49 claims from the Goblin Shark profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Goblin Shark (*Mitsukurina owstoni*)

> 49 claims from the Goblin Shark profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Goblin Shark](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/goblin-shark/)

## Mitsukurina owstoni. Florida Museum of Natural History, Discover Fishes.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/mitsukurina-owstoni/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Goblin sharks were previously thought to reach only 300 to 400 centimetres | Previously thought to only reach 300-400 cm (9.8 and 13.1 ft) long |
| more recent specimens suggest the species may grow larger | recent specimens have suggested the species may reach larger sizes |
| Regression analysis from photographs suggests lengths of 540 to 617 centimetres, roughly 18 to 20 feet, though the species' true maximum size is still unknown | Regression analysis from photographs suggest measurements of 540 to 617 cm (18-20 ft.), all though this true maximum size of the species is still unknown |
| Mature male specimens have ranged from 264 to 384 centimetres and mature females from 335 to 372 centimetres | Mature male specimens have ranged from 264-384 cm (9-13 ft.) mature females have measured 335-372 cm (11-12 ft) |
| Size at birth isn't known, but the smallest specimen ever collected measured just 107 centimetres | Size at birth is not known, but the smallest specimen ever collected was 107 cm (3.51 ft.) |
| records off California and in the northern Gulf of Mexico south of Mississippi | recorded in the United States near San Clemente Island off the coast of California (Larson and Lowry, 2017) as well as in the northern Gulf of Mexico south of Pascagoula, Mississippi |
| It is found along outer continental shelves and seamounts, and most specimens have been observed near continental slopes between 270 and 960 metres down | found along outer continental shelves, and seamounts ... most specimens have been observed near continental slopes between 270-960 m |
| Its slender teeth suggest it mainly eats soft-bodied prey such as shrimp, octopus, fish and squid | Its slender narrow teeth suggest it mainly feeds on soft body prey such as shrimps, octopus, fish, and squid |
| it is also thought to eat crabs, because of crushing teeth at the back of its jaws | It is also thought to feed on crabs, because of posterior crushing teeth (note: 'at the back of its jaws' renders 'posterior'; the page also says 'Rear teeth are smaller and are flattened for crushing') |
| A double set of ligaments at the jaw joints thrusts the jaws forward | Being thrust forward by a double set of ligaments at the mandibular joints (note: 'jaw joints' renders 'mandibular joints') |
| while swimming it usually holds them tightly | The jaws are usually held tightly while swimming |
| Blood vessels visible through the skin make a live goblin shark appear pinkish-white, while its fins appear bluish-grey | Blood vessels are visible through the skin, making them appear a pinkish white. Fins, however, appear blueish-grey. |
| Young ones are a ghostly white, with the pink intensifying with age | The young on are a ghostly white, with the pink color intensifying with age (note: 'The young on' is the cached page's own typo) |
| skin that looks pink because blood vessels show through it | Blood vessels are visible through the skin, making them appear a pinkish white (note: tagline; keeps the source's 'appear' (no pigment claimed)) |
| Outer continental shelves, slopes and seamounts, mostly 270 to 960 meters down | found along outer continental shelves, and seamounts ... most specimens have been observed near continental slopes between 270-960 m (note: stats.habitat) |
| Fish, squid, octopus and shrimp, and likely crabs | mainly feeds on soft body prey such as shrimps, octopus, fish, and squid. It is also thought to feed on crabs (note: stats.diet) |
| Young goblin sharks are a ghostly white, and the pink intensifies with age | The young on are a ghostly white, with the pink color intensifying with age (note: FAQ 2) |
| dangerLevel: Medium | The goblin shark seldom comes in contact with humans; however, because of its large size, it could be potentially dangerous. (note: Settles #836: kept at Medium. Capability reading: a shark of its size could injure, and no source records harm, so neither Low (effectively harmless) nor High.) |

## Mitsukurina owstoni (elfin shark). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Mitsukurina_owstoni/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Most known specimens come from bays of Japan | The majority of known specimens come from bays of Japan |
| the rest mostly found off New Zealand, southern Africa, and in the eastern Atlantic and Indian Oceans | the rest are mostly found off New Zealand, southern Africa, and in the Eastern Atlantic and Indian Oceans |
| The exact purpose of the long, flat snout is unknown | The exact purpose of the flat snout is unknown |
| It is not hard or sharp enough to pin or kill prey, so it is probably used to detect the faint electric signals other fish give off | as it is not hard or sharp enough to pin or kill prey, it is probably used to detect the faint electric signals that other fish give off |
| It houses the ampullae of Lorenzini, electrical sensing organs attuned to catching otherwise undetectable prey in dark water or on the seafloor | houses the ampullae of Lorenzini which are attuned to catching otherwise undetectable prey in dark waters or on the bottom (note: 'electrical sensing organs' is ADW's own gloss: 'the electrical sensing organs called ampullae of Lorenzini') |
| A snout that probably senses electricity | it is probably used to detect the faint electric signals that other fish give off (note: blockquote lead) |
| Judging by its body shape, scientists assume the goblin shark is rather sluggish, swimming lazily or waiting for prey to come within striking distance | Due to its morphology, it is assumed that Mitsukurina owstoni is rather sluggish and accomplishes most of its hunting by swimming lazily or waiting for vertically migrating animals to come within striking distance (note: FAQ 1) |
| Probably not by chasing it | Mitsukurina owstoni is not a fast or active predator (note: FAQ 1) |
| Blood vessels close to the skin give a live goblin shark its pinkish color, and because it lacks pigment, a dead one looks almost colorless | Due to the blood vessels that are close to the skin, the shark has a pinkish-grey color in life, though in death it appears quite colorless because of its lack of pigment (note: FAQ 2) |
| Not from pigment | because of its lack of pigment (note: FAQ 2) |
| Nobody knows for sure, but it is not hard or sharp enough to pin or kill prey | The exact purpose of the flat snout is unknown, but as it is not hard or sharp enough to pin or kill prey (note: FAQ 3) |
| One theory has the goblin shark hunting on the bottom with electroreceptors on its enlarged snout, much as hammerhead sharks do | Another theory has goblin sharks actively hunting for benthic prey using electroreceptors on its enlarged snout (similar to hammerhead sharks) (note: FAQ 3) |
| using the snout to dig up any prey it detects under the sand | using this snout to dig up any prey it detects underneath the sand (note: FAQ 3) |

## Nakaya et al. (2016). Slingshot feeding of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni (Pisces: Lamniformes: Mitsukurinidae). Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep27786

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Slingshot Jaws | Slingshot feeding of the goblin shark (note: heading) |
| Researchers filmed two goblin sharks, both about 1.3 metres long and caught by gill net in Tokyo Bay in 2008 and 2011 | Two individuals, both ca. 1300 mm in total length (TL), captured from the Tokyo Underwater Canyon in the Tokyo Bay by the gill nets in 2008 and 2011 (note: 1300 mm converted to 1.3 m) |
| The one recording that covered a whole strike, on a diver's arm | The first recording was a strike on a diver's arm, and as it covers the entire striking event |
| the lower jaw shooting forward at up to 3.14 metres per second | The lower jaw was swung anterodorsally from the peak retraction and protruded quickly forward at a maximum velocity of 3.14 m/s (note: Results section describing the 2008 (diver's arm) recording) |
| travelling 9.4% of the shark's total length, with the upper jaw travelling 8.6% | 8.6% of total length (TL) (or 32.3% of head length [HL]) for the upper jaw and 9.4% TL (35.5% HL) for the lower jaw |
| by far the fastest and greatest jaw protrusion among sharks | which is by far the fastest and greatest jaw protrusion among sharks |
| the sling-jaw wrasse, a fish well known for rapid, extensive jaw protrusion, tops out at 2.31 metres per second | The sling-jaw wrasse Epibulus insidiator is a well-known example among fishes in having rapid and extensive jaw protrusion for capturing the prey, and has its maximum protrusion velocity of 2.31 m/s |
| slingshot jaws | Slingshot feeding of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni (note: tagline) |
| Catapulting slingshot feeding mechanism that launches its jaws at up to 3.1 meters per second | The jaws were projected at a maximum velocity of 3.1 m/s (note: stats.superpower) |
| researchers who filmed two goblin sharks striking recorded the jaws projecting at up to 3.1 meters per second, by far the fastest and greatest jaw protrusion among sharks | The jaws were projected at a maximum velocity of 3.1 m/s ... which is by far the fastest and greatest jaw protrusion among sharks (note: FAQ 1) |
| a shark whose lower jaw shoots forward at up to 3.14 meters per second when it strikes | The lower jaw was swung anterodorsally from the peak retraction and protruded quickly forward at a maximum velocity of 3.14 m/s (note: vibe.reason, settled in #836.) |

## Caltabellotta et al. (2020). Preliminary age and growth of the deep-water goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni (Jordan, 1898). Marine and Freshwater Research.

https://doi.org/10.1071/mf19370

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Deep-water sharks and rays have poorly mineralised structures, so ageing them takes unconventional techniques | Owing to poorly mineralising structures, ageing deep-water elasmobranchs requires unconventional techniques (note: elasmobranchs = sharks and rays; published version (Marine and Freshwater Research) of the bioRxiv preprint) |
| researchers stained a single vertebra from a male measuring 315.2 centimetres and aged it at a minimum of 27 years | using Alcian blue staining of the vertebral column. One vertebral centrum from a male individual measuring 315.2-cm total length (TL) was aged with a minimum age of 27 years |
| Combining that with the lengths of the largest known males and the smallest free-swimming goblin sharks in a growth model | a Bayesian von Bertalanffy growth model informed by back-calculated length at age, a literature search of maximum male TL, the TL of the smallest free-swimming individuals and informative priors |
| they estimated that males grow to about 374 centimetres, mature at around 16 years and live up to 60 years | we estimated males grow to 374 cm TL, mature at 16 years and live up to 60 years (note: published figures supersede the preprint's 364 cm, 215 kg, 16.5 and 55 years) |

## Judah et al. (2026). First in situ observations of the goblin shark Mitsukurina owstoni. Journal of Fish Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.70505

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In 2019 and 2024, scientists made the first observations of live goblin sharks in their own habitat, on a seamount near Jarvis Island and on the slope of the Tonga Trench | the first live in situ observations of the iconic goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) on a seamount near Jarvis Island in 2019 and on the slope of the Tonga Trench in 2024 (note: 'in their own habitat' renders 'in situ') |
| The sightings extended the species' known depth range considerably, and the depth range of its whole order, the lamniform sharks, by 108 metres | These observations extend its known geographic and depth range considerably, and extend the depth range of lamniform sharks by 108 m |

## Finucci & Duffy (2018). Mitsukurina owstoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T44565A2994832.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t44565a2994832.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: stats.conservationStatus; category read through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |