Frilled shark caught off Australian coast

Mary Bowerman | USA TODAY Network

A 300-toothed frilled shark, with a face fitting of a sea monster, was caught off the waters of Victoria, Australia, last month.

The rarely sighted shark has ancestors dating back 80 million years and is known as a "living fossil," according to the South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association.

The shark is about 6 feet in length, with a body that looks like an eel and has a sharklike tail. The association posted an image of the catch on its website.

A skipper, named David Guillot, found the shark while fishing for sea perch, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Guillot told Fairfax Radio on Wednesday he'd never seen anything like the shark in his 30 years at sea, according to the Herald.

"The head on it was like something out of a horror movie. It was quite horrific looking. ... It was quite scary actually," Guillot said, according to the Herald.

Simon Boag, from the South East Trawl Fishing Association, told ABC that it was the first time in living memory that a frilled shark had been sighted.

The shark was offered as a specimen to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. But the organization declined because it already had a specimen, SETFIA said on its website. The frilled shark is believed to have been sold.

Sky News Australia tweeted a photo Tuesday of the "terrifying" shark.

Gallery: Strange aquatic creatures

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