There is a shark in the ocean that lived long ago with dinosaurs By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.17.17 Word Count 433 Level 560L
In this photo released by Awashima Marine Park, a 1.6-meter-long frilled shark swims in a tank after being found by a fisherman in a bay at Numazu, Japan, in 2007. This shark usually lives in waters of a depth of 600 meters. Its body shape and the number of gills are similar to fossils of sharks that lived 350 million years ago. Photo from Awashima Marine Park/Getty Images
Many people love the beaches and the oceans. We might need to consider whether that is a good idea, though.
Maybe we rushed into our love of the ocean. What do we really know about the ocean? Humans have explored only a small part of it. It seems like we keep finding out new and scary things about it.
Scary "Sea Serpents"
One scary find was a shark with 300 teeth. It lived in the time of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs died out long ago, but the creepy shark is still around. It is called a frilled shark.
The animals of its time were Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops. They disappeared long ago. The frilled shark still lives deep in the oceans, scientists say.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. They know that because of an accident. A group of scientists was fishing deep in the Atlantic Ocean. They were trying to find a way to avoid catching certain fish, a news report said.
The scientists ended up catching one of the oldest animals on Earth. There were stories in the 1800s about "sea serpents." The shark might have been what those sailors saw.
One Quick Bite!
Frilled sharks can grow to be 6 feet long. That is the size of a tall man. The shark is named after its gills, which have fluffy edges.
The fish has 300 sharp teeth. They are lined in 25 rows.
It sinks its teeth into other sharks and fish.
People know very little about the frilled shark. It lives deep in the ocean. We hardly ever see it.
It is not really known why the sharks are still alive. It has been millions of years. It did not disappear like other animals of its day.
It reminds us that some creepy animals are in the ocean.
Sea Creatures Keep Surprising Us
Scientists sometimes explore new parts of the sea. Then they use the Internet to show the world what they catch in their nets.
This year, scientists pulled up animals from more than two miles below the ocean. They wanted to see what kind of sea creatures live there. It is always dark and cold.
They found a fish called a coffinfish. It has blue eyes and red fins. The fish uses "fluffy bait on top of its head" to catch other animals.
A newspaper told of a strange animal in Texas. The wind and rain of Hurricane Harvey brought a surprise to a beach.
A "sea creature with fangs and no face" washed onto the shore, a newspaper said. People did not know what it was. But it was creepy.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.