A photo of an unusual deep-sea monster with a face that could rival Spider-Man’s Venom took to Twitter once again after it went viral in 2018. No fake or internet prank, this creature is a real species with a surprising stealth ability, but fortunately it hasn’t learned to walk yet.
Called the English viper dogfish (viper shark – Trigonognathus kabeyai), these creatures are a rare deep-sea shark found in the western North Pacific Ocean of Japan, Taiwan, and Hawaii. First discovered by the Seiryo-Maryu trawler off the coast of Japan in 1986, these sharks take their scientific name from the captain of the ship that first found them, Hiromichi Kabeya.
The first part of their scientific name is derived from the Greek words “trigon” and “gnathus” meaning triangular jaw. They are so rare that we know little about their lifespan or behavior, but researchers think this species dates back to around 42 million years ago.
All black except for their tiny translucent fins, these sharks have light-producing cells called photophores on the underside and under their heads, meaning they glow in the dark. These fish live at depths of between 270 and 360 meters and are thought to spend the day at greater depths to catch the large number of anglerfish they prey on, and then ascend to these shallower depths at night.
The viper dogfish is a rare species of shark that resides deep in the ocean. They eject their jaws out of their mouth to catch prey. pic.twitter.com/SG3jEvzzVO
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) October 13, 2022
We can’t say it’s surprising that people liken him to the Marvel character Venom because of his needle-like teeth and big eyes. But the most interesting feature of this species is definitely its jaws that extend upwards and outwards when released. To catch their prey, they extend their formidable fangs and protrude the upper jaw from the top of the neurocranium, similar to a goblin shark. This structure allows them to eat prey of many different sizes. Studies of stomach contents show that they eat bony fish and possibly swallow their prey whole.
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