A "living fossil" sounds cool in theory, but this frilled shark had fishermen terrified when a net caught one off Australia's coast.
The frilled shark's roots go all the way back to 80 million years ago, and almost all of the species' closest relatives are extinct. Seeing a frilled shark is a rare experience, but thanks to 25 rows of needle-like teeth, it's also quite a frightening one:
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"The head on it was like something out of a horror movie," fisherman David Guillot told Australia's 3AW radio. "It was quite horrific looking."
The South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association announced the find, adding that Guillot is the only person the group is aware of to ever catch a frilled shark.
"It's a freaky thing," Simon Boag, the chief executive officer at the South East Trawl Fishing Association, told Australia's ABC Rural. "I don't think you would want to show it to little children before they went to bed."
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