A rare species of megamouth shark found in Shizuoka Japan attracts thousands

A rare species of shark called megamouth shark, a deep water female species was caught off the coast of Shizuoka in Japan. This is the 58th sighting recorded of this species.

The creature is 2,600 ft and weighed almost 1,500lbs. The name ‘megamouth’ has been derived from the disproportionate size of its huge head and the enormous capacity of its mouth. The mouth of the animal is open when it swims to filter water for catching plankton and jelly fish.

1,500 people have already gathered to see this 13ft long animal’s necropsy and more will gather to see this wonder of nature. Only 13 sightings of the sharks off the coast of Japan have been recorded. Scientists are hoping to learn more from this unusual species after the discovery.

The first megamouth was caught in the sea anchor of a US Navy ship off the coast of Hawaii.

The sharks can grow to a maximum length of between 17 and 18 ft and were only recognised as a species almost 30 years ago.

For those interested can view the remains of the shark in The Marine Science Museum in Shizuoka.