Sharky things that go bump in the dark

The M/V Gonzacove 1 retrieved a rare Mitsukurina owstoni last month and researchers are thrilled.

So are we, as this critter, also known as the Goblin Shark is one of our favorites. A real throwback to the Paleozoic era when the oceans were filled with critters that, cage or no cage, you did not want to be in the water with.

This specimen was a male 161 cm in length and was caught around 400 meters deep.

The full story is in Spanish here.

Goblin girl... on a Goblin boy update!

You might remember my new friend, Goblin boy?

Well, after soaking in alcohol at the Natural Museum here in Gothenburg for a few months, in a borrowed jar, he is now with me in my sharky office.

Strangely enough some of my colleagues both think I'm crazy and that he is ugly (!). I don't know what they are talking about.

Doesn't everyone have dead sharks in their offices?!

Goblin girl on... new locations for goblin sharks!

I recently recieved a paper called "New Findings of Rare Fish Species from Families Mitsukurinidae (Chondrichthyes), Muraenidae, Lophiidae, Macrouridae, and Psychrolutidae (Teleostei) on Raises of the Atlantic Ocean with the Description of Gymnothorax walvisensis sp. nova" by A. M. Prokofiev and by A. M. Prokofiev and E. I. Kukuev 2009. They reported two findings of goblin sharks from the Mid-Atlantic ridge. The area is called Vavilov seamount (see pic to the left).

When I searched for an other paper they referred to in the paper mentioned above, I found an other paper called "Insufficiently studied fishes of the open ocean - Ichthyofauna of Corner Mountains and New England Seamounts" by Kukuyev from 1982. In this paper they tell about 9 goblin sharks that also were caught at the Mid-Atlantic ridge, but on a different location (see pic with small yellow dot in the middle, showing the location). The depth was 2000 - 4100 m (!). Not a diveable depth! It's always fascinating that something can live at these depths, that there is huge mountain chain that we can't see...

We have a real heat wave in Sweden at the moment. I think I will stay inside - where it is not cold, but cooler at least! - and read the new book "Oceanic Anglerfishes - extraordinary diversity in the deep sea" by Theodore W. Pietsch...

For links to summary of the first paper and the full text of the second, see my personal homepage http://blogs.myspace.com/tenguzame

Underwater Thills:Swimming With Sharks Welcomes Shark Blogger "Goblin Girl"

One year later the UT Blog has exploded past 10K readers a month. Our blogs brand of commercial shark diving news, conservation op ed and pushing for change has struck a chord within our industry.

It has been an effective run so far. Adding to that success we are excited to introduce guest bloggers to our site who have a long track record for shark conservation and observations on sharks that change perceptions.

So without further fanfare we would like to welcome Goblin Girl to Underwater Thrills:Swimming With Sharks.

Goblin Girl you ask? Here's her bio:

I'm a marine biologist from Sweden working for the Swedish board of fisheries since nearly 15 years. In my daily job I mainly work with applications processed in the enviromental court. I review them from a fish and fishery point of view. Whenever there is a shark related question in Sweden or Sweden is involved internationally, I'm the one they consult to suggest what Swedens standpoint should be. I'm part of several shark groups like ICES WGEF (working group on elasmobranch fishes) that review data and leaves advice for fishing quotas in the northeast Atlantic. I'm also doing updates both for the national redlist as well as IUCN:s global redlist on sharks. I'm cofounder of the Swedish Elasmobranch Society.

Media often call me when there have been shark attacks and I appear regularily on Swedish nature shows on tv. I appear in a film that is sometimes shown on animal planet called "Science of shark sex".

I've been talking about sharks ever since I was a little kid (3-4 years old). I saw Ron and Valerie Taylor, on tv, diving with sharks and wanted to do the same. So far I've only seen white sharks from a boat (they got afraid when the cage went into the water), but I have snorkled with great hammerheads, nurse sharks, whitetip and blacktip reefsharks. Plus dived with sandtigers, sandbars, wobbegongs, lemons, large stingrays, blacktip reef sharks etc - all at the same time! (Yes, it WAS in an aquarium.) My holidays either goes to destinations where I can swim with sharks, see them in aquarium or see goblin sharks.

"Goblin girl" is my nickname since I simply love goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni). Whenever I get the chance I trawl the net for new info and photos. I'm a dedicated collector and have more shark items than I can count! My office at work is looking more like a toy shop than anything else.

Apart from sharks, deep sea animals is a great interest as well as everything else living in the sea. I also have a great interest for music, with over a 1000 cd:s and I read probably more than I should.

Cheers,
Charlott - the Goblin Girl
My Space
She's a Goblin
She's a Goblin Girl (snip)
Pink all over
Some is tan
Goblin Girls
From every land
They look good...
"Goblin Girl" by Frank Zappa

Editors Note: You can see why she'll fit in perfectly here. Welcome again Goblin Girl!