Unidentified 'nightmare' shark found in deep ocean in Australia

A mysterious shark described as 'a real nightmare' has been brought up from the depths of the Tasman Sea by an Australian fisherman. His identification could not be established and raises questions from experts and Internet users.

Credit: Trapman Bermagui/Facebook

Rough skin, big blue and black eyes that pop out of their sockets, a pointed muzzle dotted with a smile to make Batman's Joker pale. Here is the photo of the strange shark discovered by a fisherman off the coast of New South Wales.

On September 12, the fisherman Trapman Bermagui published the photo of the sharks on his account Facebook . In description, Trapman recounts having brought up the shark 650 meters deep below the sea. He also underlines its appearance, as disturbing as it is astonishing.

Quickly, Internet users speculated on the species of the shark. It must be said that there are nearly 530 known species of sharks in the world.

Experts disagree on the species of shark discovered at sea

Could it be a goblin shark? Credit: Dianne Bray - Museum Victoria/ Wikipedia

While one Internet user indicated that the deep-sea shark looked like a prehistoric creature, others suggested that it could be a ferocious shark (Isistius brasiliensis) or a goblin shark (also called -goblin), a very scary species.

Among biologists also the mystery is great. Dean Grubbs of the University of Florida thinks the shark may be a spiny dogfish (spotted dogfish), which is highly prized for its culinary consumption. Christopher Lowe, director of the shark laboratory at the University of California, believes that it could be a liche shark (dalatias licha) which evolves in particular off the coast australian up to 1800 meters deep. Christopher Lowe, however, indicates that he is “ hard to say for sure without being able to see the entire specimen ».

The mystery therefore remains for this shark with a broad smile. Biologists point out that the shark could belong to a species that has not yet been identified. ' We're constantly discovering new species of deep-sea sharks and many look a lot alike “, entrusted Christopher Lowe to the media Newsweek .