A nature enthusiast walking the shoreline in central Israel came across the carcass of a rare gray sixgill shark, known to inhabit the deep waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Uri Yosef spotted the dead shark Thursday morning on Shoshanat HaAmakim Beach, and, knowing the sighting would interest marine biologists, he contacted the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, as reported by Israeli news site YnetNews.
The last time such a species washed ashore in Israel was 2012, so inspectors from Nature and Parks Authority were dispatched to the scene, but they were unable to locate the carcass. They suspect it had drifted back into the sea.
“As soon as I received the photos from Uri, I understood this was a rare shark species,” Guy Levian, deputy director of the marine unit at the Nature and Parks Authority, told YnetNews. “We sent the images to experts at the Sharks in Israel Association, who identified it as a gray sixgill shark. When we reached the location, we searched for the carcass but found nothing.”
The rare sighting was made on Shoshanat HaAmakim Beach in central Israel.
The last time a gray sixgill shark washed ashore in Israel was 2012.
The sighting was rare because the species live at great depths, with some documented at depths of over 8,000 feet.
“The gray sixgill can reach a maximum length of about 6 meters [19.7 feet],” Adi Barash, scientific director of the Sharks in Israel Association, told YnetNews. “It is brownish-gray in color, with relatively large green eyes, typical of deep-sea species.”
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Barash said it doesn’t have a prominent dorsal fin like most sharks. Instead, it has a single dorsal fin positioned toward the rear of the body, close to the tail.
“Unlike most sharks, which have five gill slits, this species has six, which is how it got its name,” she told YnetNews.
Gray sixgill sharks are known to descend into deep water during the day and rise at night. Because it lives at great depths in the Mediterranean Sea, the species is less exposed to threats and is not currently classified as at risk.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Rare shark washes ashore in Israel, then suddenly disappears