DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Elphin (or elfin) shark
Mitsukurina owstoni
- Usual depth380–1,240 m
- Water temperature13–28 °C
- Best monthsJanuary, August, and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The goblin shark is a rare species of deep-sea shark. Sometimes called a "living fossil", it is the only extant representative of the family Mitsukurinidae, a lineage some 125 million years old. This pink-skinned animal has a distinctive profile with an elongated, flat snout, and highly protrusible jaws containing prominent nail-like teeth. It typically reaches a length of 3 to 4 meters when fully grown, although it can grow significantly larger—such as one specimen captured in 2000, which was believed to measure around 6 meters. Goblin sharks are benthopelagic creatures that inhabit upper continental slopes, submarine canyons, and seamounts throughout the world at depths greater than 100 m (330 ft), with adults found deeper than juveniles. Some researchers believed that these sharks could also dive to depths of up to 1,300 m (4,270 ft), for short periods; footage captured in 2024 suggests that their range could be deeper than previously thought, with a confirmed sighting of an adult swimming at 2,000 m (6,560 ft).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Goblin shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 8 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 4 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 1 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 4 records
- August: 8 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 2 records
- November: 6 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 380–1,240 m · Deepest record: 1,300 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 13–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Elphin (or elfin) shark, Goblin shark, Japanese goblin shark, Mitsukuri’s shark, Tengu (goblin) shark, Elfin Shark, elphin (or elfin) shark, Elphin Shark, goblin shark, Goblin-shark, mitsukuri’s shark, tengu (goblin) shark
Names in 7 more languages
- German
- Goblinhai, Japanischer Nasenhai, Koboldhai, Nasenhai
- Spanish
- tiburón duende, Tiburón duende, Tiburón-duende, tiburón duende rosado, Tiburones Duende
- French
- requin lutin, Requin lutin, Requin-lutin
- Indonesian
- Squalo Folletto
- Japanese
- mitsukurizame, Mitsukurizame, Teguzame, tenguzame, Zoozame, ミツクリザメ
- Thai
- ปลาฉลามปีศาจ
- Simplified Chinese
- 劍吻鯊, 大沙, 歐氏尖吻鮫
Other scientific names: Odontaspis nasutus, Scapanorhynchus dofleini, Scapanorhynchus jordani, Scapanorhynchus mitsukurii, Scapanorhynchus owstoni
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 97 open-data records from 1966 to 2015.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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