#hell yeah sharks

[theabyssinyourcloset]

Idk why I'm here rn. It's 2am and i should be sleeping but instead i'm just scrolling through tumblr.

Here, have a shark gif. Just cause it's cute. Sharks are cute and they deserve so much better

[theabyssinyourcloset]

The Goblin Shark

The goblin shark is a species of shark. It's also happens to be my absolute favourite.

The scientific name for this "little" creature is Mitsukurina owstoni. It's a rare species that lives in depths greater than 100 metres (330 feet for my American friends), although it can possibly dive up to 1 300 metres deep (4 270 feet) (according to some scientists). Adults usually find their habitat deeper than juveniles. They have been found in all of the major oceans, suggesting that the species lives pretty much all around the globe.

The goblin shark was first discovered around 1906 (although I'm not sure about this since my sources did not state the exact date) at the eastern coast of Japan. To this day, fewer than 50 goblin sharks have been spotted. Some dead specimens have been hauled up for research.

Studies show that the goblin shark is a pretty damn old species. It has been described as a "living fossil". It seems that it is the only surviving shark species of the Mitsukurindae family. Some fossils have been found, suggesting that other lines of species from the same family have once existed.

These sharks are usually a colour of pink. They have 26 sharp teeth in their upper jaw, and 24 in their lower. (Their jaw is unique, but I'll explain more later on in this post.) The goblin shark also has a long snout above its mouth.

Unlike most other deep-sea sharks, the goblin shark has a fully working iris. Its pupils can dilate and contract when the tiny amounts of lights are detected down in their habitat. This is most likely to help them locate prey.

This shark can grow to over 3,7 metres long (12 feet), with the estimated maximum around 7 metres (23 feet). Usually it stays between 3 and 4 metres.

The maximum weight recorded was 210 kilograms (460 pounds). I think it's pretty safe to say that these are not that small animals.

Now, what makes these creatures unique (and my favourite) is the goblin shark's jaw and hunting technique. The goblin shark hunts by thrusting its jaw forward with a velocity of 3,14 metres per second (I don't know how to tell the speed in any other way, sorry), the fastest recorded for any shark species (also faster than most cobra strikes). The jaw can extend to a length of up to 7,6 centimetres (3 inches) with an angle up to 111 degrees (for comparison, the average human can open their jaw to about 50 degrees). Pretty impressive, right?

In conclusion: The goblin shark is a deep-sea shark species that hunts by thrusting its jaw forward. We don't know much about them, since only a little under 50 specimens have been spotted within the 118 years after the first discovery at the coast of Japan.

Below I have provided pictures and a couple of gifs of these creatures. I own none of the pictures, and I made sure none of them are copyrighted.

(Please view pictures with your own risk, this creature isn't that nice-looking)

The goblin shark.

Goblin shark eating a fish.

Goblin shark trying to bite a human's arm.

Goblin shark head from below.

Goblin shark face from up close. Eye can be seen clearly.

This post was just a random idea that popped up in my head during the car ride to visit my grandpa. I decided to actually write it (despite having way better things to do). I think I might write about other sharks too. I kinda wanna write about the mako shark, the great white shark and the hammerhead shark as well. At least about them. Possibly about the megalodon. Feel free to ask any questions or request a post for any specific species of shark :)

I also want to share awareness about how misunderstood sharks are. I'll write a separate, short post about it sometime. Not here because this post would get way too long. I'll talk about the movies "Jaws" and "The Meg", because it's important to understand how these have affected our view on sharks.

Edit: guess who forgot to cite their sources *insert a skull emoji*

So then, SOURCES:

Goblin shark - Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, but I don't care)

Goblin Shark: Key Facts, Lifespan, Habitat and Information - Discovery UK

Goblin Shark - The Australian Museum

The goblin shark's slingshot jaws are the fastest of any shark species | How it works | Earth Touch News

All read on 21st January 2024 by me, The Abyss In Your Closet.

[theabyssinyourcloset]

The shortfin mako

Last time (over a month ago, oops) I talked about the goblin shark. There has now been a request (can I call it that?) by @surprisemice to do the mako shark next, so here we go!

So, the scientific name for the shortfin mako (also known as the shortfin mako shark, blue pointer, mackerel shark and bonito shark) is Isurus oxyringchus. There's also a longfin mako shark, which is its own separate species (Isurus paucus). Although both are commonly called makos, the shortfin is better known, and so I will be introducing it first (I'll write about the longfin in a separate post sometime later). The shortfin mako is an endangered species, along with the longfin.

The shortfin mako shark typically inhabits tropical waters all around the world, far from land, at around 150 metres (490 ft). It's an endothermic species (one of the very few) that isn't typically found in waters colder that 16°C (61°F).

The species was first discovered around 1810. Unfortunately I did not find where that happened. I also cannot find any information about how old this species is. I seriously don't know how I was able to dig up so much information about the goblin shark :/ well, I'm going to tell some other cool facts about this species instead (once we get there)!

The shortfin makos are typically a colour of dark blue on the top. The colour turns to metallic blue, before turning to white on the bottom. The sharks typically have around 6-8 teeth on their upper jaw, but overall they have 12 sets of them. Quite a lot. Not to mention that they're razor sharp. These sharks also have around 50 teeth that are not in use. They are possibly only there, at the back of their mouths, to intimidate other predators (mainly other sharks).

The shortfin mako usually grows to about 2,5 to 3,2 metres (8,2 to 10,5 feet). Females are typically larger in size than males. They normally weigh around 60–140 kilograms (130–310 pounds). The longest verified length for an individual was 4,45 metres (14,6 feet), and the heaviest was around 600 kilograms (1 300 pounds). Those two were separate cases, though.

Now, some fun facts. The shortfin mako sharks are the fastest species of shark (I like the fact that this shark was used as a mascot for @surprisemice's old swim team, you people must've been good), reaching up to speeds of 80,47 km/h (50 mi/h). That's quite fast, I must say. Also, what I find even more cool is that these sharks can jump above water, at heights of 9 metres (almost 30 feet). I just searched that up and I'm not going to lie, my jaw dropped open. So glad I'm doing some random shark posts like these, I get to learn cool stuff.

Another fun fact: the term 'mako' comes from the Māori language (or its different dialects), with mako meaning shark or shark tooth. Idk why but I just find that cute.

So, in conclusion: The shortfin mako shark is an endangered species of shark found all around the world in tropical and overall warm waters. They're also currently the fastest shark species out there.

Below I have provided images of this beautiful species:

The shortfin mako shark.

Another image of the shortfin mako shark.

The shortfin mako shark jumping out of water (impressive).

Gif with a good view of the teeth of the shortfin mako shark.

Hopefully this was enjoyable to read! I'd be glad to receive feedback on my info posts, if anyone has any. But that's it for today, have a great day/night/whatever time it is there where you are (here it's basically midnight *cough cough*)!

I'll make a separate post about which shark species' I want to write about, eventually crossing off the ones I have written about. (That isn't that important right now though)

I have once again forgot to cite my sources. Fuck me.

Shortfin mako shark - Wikipedia

Ever wondered how many teeth do sharks have? Wonder no more! In this blog post, we'll tell you all about shark teeth and what makes them so

Shortfin Mako Shark - Oceana

The shortfin mako shark is a large, predatory shark that lives in the open ocean and reaches lengths of 12 feet (3.8 m) and weights of at le

Shortfin Mako | Sharkpedia

The shortfin mako shark, also known as the blue pointer or bonito shark, is a large mackerel shark. It is commonly referred to as the mako s

Jumping the Shark

It is one of the most incredible and awe-inspiring sights in the natural world... An impossibly huge shark leaping from the surface of the o

All sources read/visited on 4th March 2024, by The Abyss In Your Closet

[theabyssinyourcloset]

Shark info post; The List

So, I write random info posts about sharks. Here I have gathered every species I have done a post about/have yet to write a post about.

Done:

Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni)

Shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)

Have yet to write:

Longfin mako

Great white

Hammerhead

Thresher shark

Whale shark

[yourlocalsharkfanatic]

Shark info post; The List

Reposted from @theabyssinyourcloset (aka the creator of this side blog)

So, I write random info posts about sharks. Here I have gathered every species I have done a post about/have yet to write a post about.

Done:

Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni)

Shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus)

Have yet to write:

Longfin mako

Great white

Hammerhead

Thresher shark

Whale shark

Tiger shark

Bull shark

Megalodon (because of course I have to write about it)

Frilled shark

Dogfish sharks (from what I understood there are multiple species's)

Feel free to request for any species you'd like to know more about! My ask box is also open for any questions :)

[stressednoverdressed]

I LOVE SHARK WEEK MORE THAN ANYTHING