Lakes Entrance in eastern Victoria, Australia in known as a tourist resort and fishing port. Some fishermen discovered it is also apparently home to a prehistoric shark called the frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus).
Frilled sharks developed 80 million years ago, during the Cretaceous Period. It is one of only two species from the shark family Chlamydoselachidae. Although the Lake Entrance shark was caught at a depth of 2297 feet (700 meters), they are most commonly seen at depths of 3900 feet (1200 meters). They can be found at depths of 4921 feet (1500 meters), but this is rare.
They live in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and are usually found near the bottom of the continental slope. The frilled shark gets its name from its frilly gills, of which it has six pairs. (Most modern sharks have five pairs of gills; having more than that is considered a primitive feature.) It is 6.5 feet (2 meters) long and has a brown, eel-like body. The frilled shark is believed to catch prey by striking like a snake.
Also like a snake, it has very flexible jaws that let it swallow prey whole. Its mouth is lined with 300 teeth arranged in 25 rows that make it hard for the prey to escape. The frilled shark is believed to hunt fish, cephalopods, and other sharks.
Some researcher think the shark’s body shape lets hunt in crevices. The fishermen offered the shark to the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization), but they already have specimens.