Mysterious shark frozen at Smithsonian to study its ‘big mouth with a lot of secrets’

A rare shark specimen is frozen as researchers prepare to study its “big mouth with a lot of secrets.”

Megamouth sharks are “elusive,” with fewer than 240 ever caught, the Smithsonian said Tuesday in a magazine story.

As their name indicates, the sharks are known for their huge mouths, which can span 4 feet, according to Oceana.org.

But scientists have few other details about the mysterious sharks. Now, they are hoping to change that.

A megamouth found near Taiwan in 2018 was recently brought to the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., where it’s sitting on a “frozen block,” according to the Smithsonian.

“When you have an opportunity like this, it’s a chance to gather baseline information on a species that is just so hard to capture in any other way,” museum specialist Diane Pitassy said in Tuesday’s article.

At the museum, scientists say they hope to examine the megamouth’s body structure and DNA.

With genetic information, it could be possible to uncover clues about the species’ evolution, according to experts. Researchers say they also want to learn how the shark fits into the underwater food chain.

“Understanding the life history of sharks is important, especially because we don’t know their full role in marine ecosystems or how sensitive they are to human-made pressures,” Paul Clerkin, who picked up the specimen, told the Smithsonian. “They’re a big influence on the world.”

Megamouths are filter feeders that can grow to 17 feet long, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. They have been found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans, wildlife experts say.

Freezing the shark specimen provides a unique opportunity for scientists to study the animal before it goes through processes to help prevent decomposition, according to researchers.

“You almost never hear about a megamouth being transported to a museum, especially in the United States,” Clerkin, who is also a graduate researcher at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, said in the article. “Almost everything that we know about them, we’ve had to learn from dead specimens that are usually preserved.”