Nightmare-like, 'Prehistoric' Frilled Shark Caught Near Australia (VIDEO)

It looks like something that shouldn't exist outside of someone's nightmare: the frilled shark. This prehistoric-looking creature can be found in the deep ocean and is rarely seen near the surface. Now, though, a fishing trawler off Australia's coast has caught one of these rare sharks.

"It's a freaky thing," said Dimon Boag, the chief executive officer at South East Trawl Fishing Association, in an interview with Australia's ABC Rural. "I don't think you would want to show it to little children before they went to bed."

Frilled sharks can be found in the deep sea, and are thought to be responsible for certain "sea serpent" sightings. With an eel-like body, this animal has a ruffled throat and tiny fins. Most specimens have been found in Japanese waters and are thought to live at depths of 400 to 4,200 feet. However, methods of capture could actually be skewing these results.

The shark that was recently captured is about six feet in length and has about 300 needle-shaped teeth in 25 rows, according to Fox News. These prehistoric-looking sharks are thought to capture their prey by bending their bodies like a snake.

This isn't the first frilled shark that's been seen. In 2007, one was spotted-alive-off of the coastal waters of Japan. It was captured by staff at a Japanese marine park, but then later died in captivity; it's thought that the specimen was found so close to the surface because it was sick.

The recently-spotted frilled shark was taken to the CSIRO where its identity was confirmed.

Want to see a frilled shark for yourself? Check out the video below of the one discovered near Japan, courtesy of YouTube.

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