Residents of a Filipino village in the province of Negros Oriental, on whose beach a rare deep-sea shark was recently thrown on the beach, are panicking awaiting a large devastating tsunami or earthquakes. The fact is that deep-sea inhabitants rise to the surface only before major cataclysms.
The discarded shark is a pelagic largemouth shark (Megachasma pelagios). These sharks were discovered relatively recently, in 1976. They reach 6 meters in length, but they are not dangerous for humans, as they feed on plankton. In addition, they live at a depth of 1500 meters.
Pelagic bigmouth sharks so rarely fall into the hands of scientists that by 2015, only about a hundred individuals are officially known.
This shark has a frightening appearance with a huge mouth, which, however, does not have sharp teeth. These sharks live in warm latitudes, near Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. Sometimes they get caught in fishing nets, but even less often ocean waves throw them ashore, so this event cannot be called ordinary. Locals now expect such devastating disasters that are comparable only to the Apocalypse.
It is said that other deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean - belt fish (herring king) were thrown ashore shortly before the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Also, a dead belt fish was found on the coast just two days before the major earthquake in the Philippines in 2017.
Japanese seismologist Kiyoshi Wadatsumi says that “deep sea creatures are very sensitive to any irregular movement of the seabed. Their appearance in shallow water indicates that something is happening in the depths."
At the moment, the cause of death of a shark thrown onto the beach of Negros Oriental is being investigated by the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Water Resources. Dr. Alessandro Ponso, executive director of the Marine Vertebrate Research Institute (LAMAVE), said a shark autopsy would be performed in the coming days.
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He says: “Science knows very little about the pelagic bigmouth shark and thus scientists are seizing on any opportunity to study this species. This is only the 118th specimen of the pelagic largemouth shark found in the world and the 20th in the Philippines."