Pulau Weh, Sumatra, Indonesia--One
of the rarest seen sharks in the world, the megamouth,
has washed ashore
in a remote area of Indonesia. The shark, 1.7m in length,
was discovered in the tidewater on Saturday by locals.
The shark has been since frozen,
as the discovers wait to hear from researchers. If confirmed,
this would only the 21th sighting of the megamouth in
the world.
Background on the Megamouth Shark
The megamouth shark
is a large, slow-moving, timid shark that was only
discovered in
1976. Only 20
confirmed
examples of this rare species have ever been found,
mostly in
the Pacific Ocean. Off the coast of Indonesia, three
Sperm whales were observed attacking a Megamouth shark
(the 13th observed megamouth). A filter-feeder, the megamouth's
diet consists of tiny crustaceans and krill, It
feeds near the surface at night (it is nocturnal),
but each day it descends to a depth
of 200m. Megamouth can grow up 5m
long and weighs up to 1,650 pounds.
special thanks Lumba
Lumba Dive Centre
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