For the first time, scientists have documented live goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni) thriving in their natural deep ocean environment. The historic observations, led by a University of Hawai’i at Mānoa research team, provide an unprecedented look at one of the world’s rarest and most mysterious sharks without removing it from its habitat.
Until now, every confirmed video or observation of a live goblin shark came only after the animal had been accidentally caught on a fishing line and brought to the surface. Divers could briefly examine the sharks, but the animals typically died soon afterward. The new research, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, reports two healthy goblin sharks observed in the wild. One was seen near a seamount close to Jarvis Island, while the other was recorded along the slope of the Tonga Trench.
Often described as “living fossils,” goblin sharks are the sole surviving members of a shark family that dates back nearly 125 million years. The newly documented encounters significantly expand both the species’ known geographic distribution and the depths at which it is known to live.
Goblin Shark Breaks Depth Record
“Seeing the most iconic of all the deep-sea sharks alive and looking healthy in its natural habitat is a unique honor,” said Aaron Judah, lead author of the paper and doctoral candidate working in the Deep-Sea Fish Ecology Lab and Deep-Sea Animal Research Center (DARC) in the Department of Oceanography at the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. “I was also very surprised about how deep this species was found. The observation from the slope of the Tonga Trench is nearly 700 meters deeper than this species was known to live.”
Judah explained that the Tonga Trench sighting also establishes a new depth record for the entire order of Lamniformes, also known as the mackerel sharks. This group includes familiar species such as the great white shark, basking shark, and mako shark.
Before these discoveries, goblin sharks were known only from relatively limited regions off the western United States, Australia, and Japan in the Pacific Ocean, along with small areas of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The two new sightings, both from the Central Pacific, greatly expand the species’ known range.
Archived Footage Reveals a Hidden Discovery
The first observation came to light after Judah spoke with colleagues at DARC in 2025. They mentioned a possible goblin shark recorded during a 2019 Ocean Exploration Trust expedition aboard the E/V Nautilus, which explored deep sea ecosystems around Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Jarvis Island within the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
“I was shocked to hear this because this species was not to be known to be in the Central Pacific,” said Judah.
The expedition used the remotely operated vehicle Hercules, which recorded extensive video footage that was later archived for public access and annotated by researchers at UH Mānoa. After reviewing the recordings, Judah confirmed that a goblin shark had indeed been captured on video during a livestreamed dive at an unnamed seamount northwest of Jarvis Island. (See video link after the article below.)
Second Sighting Confirms Expanded Range
The second encounter occurred during a 2024 expedition to the Tonga Trench aboard the R/V Dagon as part of the Inkfish Open Ocean Expedition, led by scientists from the Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center. A baited camera mounted on a bottom lander captured rare footage of another goblin shark swimming freely in its natural environment.
“The Goblin Shark is one of these deep-sea charismatic animals that I never thought we’d see alive, and then to do so was amazing, but to then learn that colleagues in Hawai’i also saw one was just incredible,” said Alan Jamieson, professor and founding director at Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Center and study co-author who documented the 2024 sighting.
Why These Discoveries Matter
Judah said the findings demonstrate why traditional natural history research remains essential, especially in the deep ocean, where many species are still poorly understood.
“It is really important that we still perform natural history work,” Judah emphasized. “New discoveries like this demonstrate that there is still so much to explore in our deep ocean home. Given the newly-expanded geographic range of the goblin shark, this species can be included in regional management and a nationʻs biodiversity list, whereas, beforehand we didnʻt know it was even there!”
