These Taiwanese Fishermen Got a Big Surprise After Catching a 1,700-Pound Pregnant Goblin Shark

The animal kingdom is filled with countless beautiful creatures. The goblin shark isn't exactly one of them. Still, the mysterious animal lives deep in the ocean and is rarely seen by humans. This week, fishermen off the coast of Taiwan discovered one in their catch nets, and found that the 1,763-pound animal was pregnant with six pups.

Goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni) spend their time in the dark depths of the sea. Because of their unique looks and prehistoric roots, they're often referred to as living fossils. The shark was caught in a bottom trawling net, a controversial and often-harmful practice that results in large amounts of discarded catches.

Although the fishermen had planned to sell the catch to a restaurant, the Taiwan Ocean Artistic Museum in Taipei.convinced them to donate it to the museum for educational purposes. The shark is labeled a "species of least concern" due to its isolation from humans, but they're rarely seen or studied to their remote habitat.

"The shark was almost purchased by a restaurant," wrote museum staff in a Facebook post. "After fighting for it, the Taiwan Ocean Artistic Museum bought it as a future marine education resource."

Goblin sharks are the only living members of the Mitsukurinidae family of sharks which originated 125 million years ago during the Cretaceous period. "This species has translucent skin, a pink body, and evil fangs," the museum wrote in a translated Facebook post. "It belongs to an ancient shark family and is a very rare living fossil."

Another post showed the six pups the mom was carrying. Each one measured around four feet long and weighed roughly eight pounds. "Each baby shark has a nutrient capsule in its belly," the museum said, noting the juveniles' advanced state of gestation. "The baby sharks' teeth are already formed. So basically this mother shark should not be too far from her due date," they said.

The mom shark and her six babies escaped being eaten by a hungry restaurantgoer, although still met an unfortunate end. Its body will live permanently at the museum. The institution called the fish a "marine education textbook" that will be exhibited there in the future.

Jaws was already scary, but a movie starring a goblin shark has the potential to stay in your nightmares forever.