List of megamouth shark specimens and sightings
This list of megamouth shark specimens and sightings includes recorded human encounters with Megachasma pelagios, popularly known as the megamouth shark. A similar list is published by the Ichthyology Department of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.
List of megamouth sharks
Records are listed chronologically in ascending order and numbered accordingly.- Date – Date on which the specimen was first captured, found, or observed.
- Location – Area where the specimen was found.
- Sex – Sex and sexual maturity of the specimen.
- Size – Data relating to measurements. Abbreviations used are based on standardised acronyms in ichthyology.
- Method of capture – Circumstances in which the specimen was recovered or observed.
- Disposition – Repository or otherwise fate of the specimen.
- References – Primary sources for each specimen as well as later publications that refer to the specimen.
- Notes – Miscellaneous information.
| # | Date | Location | Sex | Size | Method of capture | Disposition | References | Notes | - | - | - |
| 1 | 15 November 1976 | off Kāne'ohe, Oahu, Hawaii | Male | TL: 4.46 m; PCL: 3.091 m ; WT: 750 kg | Became entangled in the sea anchor of a United States Navy ship | Deposited at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum | Dunford ; Taylor ; Cressey & Boyle ; Johnson ; Taylor et al. ; ; Maisey ; Wood ; Gallagher | Holotype and first recorded specimen. First examined by Leighton Taylor, who dubbed it "megamouth". | - | - | - |
| 2 | 29 November 1984 | Catalina Island, California | Male | TL: 4.49 m | "Caught" | Deposited at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | ; Lavenberg & Seigel ; Diamond ; Maisey ; Wood | - | - | - | |
| 3 | 18 August 1988 | Mandurah, Western Australia | Male | TL: 5.15 m; PCL: 3.43 m | Found washed ashore | Deposited at Western Australian Museum | Berra & Hutchins ; ; Nielsen ; Berra & Hutchins ; Berra & Hutchins | - | - | - | |
| 4 | 23 January 1989 | Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan | Male | TL: 4+ m | Found washed ashore | Discarded | Nakaya ; Nakaya | - | - | - | |
| 5 | June 1989 | Yaizu, Shizuoka, Japan | Female? | TL: ~4.9 m | Caught in net | Released alive | Miya et al. ; Mollet | Most likely a female according to John Morrissey. | - | - | - |
| 6 | 21 October 1990 | Dana Point, California | Male | TL: 4.94 m | Found entangled in a drift gillnet | Tracked | Haight ; Haight ; ; ; Lavenberg ; Nelson et al. | Specimen was taken alive, then fitted with two ultrasonic transmitters and tracked for two days. The shark was observed to move close to the surface at night and deeper during the day. | - | - | - |
| 7 | 29 November 1994 | Hakata Bay, Fukuoka, Japan | Immature female | TL: 4.71 m; PCL: 3.136 m | "Stranded" | Deposited at Marine World Uminonakamichi | Castro ; Takada ; Takada ; Clark & Castro ; Castro et al. ; Nakaya et al. ; Takada et al. ; Tanaka & Yano ; Yabumoto et al. ; Yamaguchi & Nakaya ; Yano et al. ; Yano et al. ; Yano et al. ; Goto | First confirmed female; much studied. Numerous papers on this specimen were published in Biology of the Megamouth Shark. | - | - | - |
| 8 | 4 May 1995 | off Dakar, Senegal | Immature male | TL: ~1.8 m | Caught in purse seine of French tuna fishing ship | Discarded | Séret | First recorded specimen from the Atlantic Ocean and smallest known specimen at the time. | - | - | - |
| 9 | 18 September 1995 | southern Brazil | Immature male | TL: 1.9 m; WT: 24.4 kg | Caught by commercial longline vessel | Deposited at Instituto de Pesca in São Paulo, Brazil | Castro & Gadig ; Amorim et al. ; Amorim et al. | - | - | - | |
| 10 | 30 April 1997 | south of Mikizaki, Owase, Mie, Japan at 150 m depth | Female | TL: 5.44 m; WT: 1,040 kg | Caught by fishermen | Deposited at Toba Aquarium | Yano et al. ; Ito et al. | External brain form and cranial nerves studied in detail. | - | - | - |
| 11 | 20 February 1998 | Macajalar Bay, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines | Male | TL: ~5.49 m | Caught by three fishermen | Consumed | Baldo & Elizaga ; Elizaga ; Elizaga ; Reyes ; Morrissey & Elizaga ; Amorim et al. | - | - | - | |
| 12 | 23 April 1998 | Atawa, Mie, Japan | Female | TL: 5.2–5.49 m | "Captured" | Discarded | Yano et al. ; Amorim et al. ; Burgess | - | - | - | |
| 13 | 30 August 1998 | Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia | Female? | TL: ~5 m | Observed being attacked by sperm whales | Swam away | Pecchioni & Benoldi ; Amorim et al. | - | - | - | |
| 14 | 1 October 1999 | west of San Diego, California | Female | TL: ~ | Caught in a drift gillnet | Released alive in good condition | Petersen | Four colour photographs taken. Water temperature was 67.2 °F. | - | - | - |
| 15 | 19 October 2001 | northwest of San Diego, California | Male | TL: ~ | Caught in a drift gillnet | Released alive in good condition | Petersen | Tissue biopsy collected. Water temperature was 65.8 °F. | - | - | - |
| 16 | 18 January 2002 | eastern Indian Ocean at 150 m depth | Immature male | TL: 2.35 m; WT: >120 kg | Caught in tuna purse seine | Discarded | Boonyapiwat & Vidthayanon | Caught by M/V Seafdec. Sea surface temperature was 26.8 °C. | - | - | - |
| 17 | 20 April 2002 | Nature's Valley near Plettenberg Bay, approximately 400 km east of Cape Town, South Africa | Female | TL: 3.5 m; WT: 300 kg | Found washed ashore | Deposited at Port Elizabeth Museum | ; Sanchez ; Smale ; Smale et al. | Collected from the beach by Vic Cockcroft of the Centre for Dolphin Studies. Tissue samples taken. Specimen was examined, measured and dissected by Malcolm Smale and Leonard Compagno. Mould of the animal was used for educational displays. | - | - | - |
| 18 | 6 January 2003 | Tablon, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines | ? | TL: 4.97 m; BD: 1.01 m | Caught by fisherman | Consumed | Yasay | Caught by fisherman Eldiposo Pabaida. Personnel of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources 10 measured the specimen and took several photographs. | - | - | - |
| 19 | 26 May 2003 | Dana Point, California | ? | TL: 20–25 ft ; WT: 5 tons | Sighted at sea | Released | Robbins | Sighted by Scott Caldwell from the Leslie Anne. A rope was temporarily tied around the animal's tail, preventing escape. No photographs taken; unconfirmed sighting. | - | - | - |
| 20 | 3 July 2003 | 800 m off Ki-Lei-Bi, Hualien County, Taiwan | Male | TL: ~2.5 m; WT: 490 kg | Caught in net | Consumed | Mollet | Caught by fisherman Li. Specimen bought by local seafood store. Stomach was found to be empty. | - | - | - |
| 21 | 7 August 2003 | Omaezaki, Shizuoka, Japan | Male | TL: 4.3 m | ? | Deposited at Tokai University | Furuta ; Burgess | Prepared for display by taxidermist. | - | - | - |
| 22 | 8 March 2004 | off Posorja Port, Guayas, Ecuador | Male | TL: 4.2 m; WT: ~600 kg | Caught in trammel net | Sent to market | Romero & Cruz | Caught by small fishing vessel that was unable to bring it aboard. Assisted by the Ecuadorian tuna fish ship Betty Elizabeth. Animal was alive at time of capture and regurgitated food consisting mainly of Engraulis ringens. Surface temperature of the sea was 23.6 °C. | - | - | - |
| 23 | 13 March 2004 | Gapang Beach, northern tip of Sumatra | Immature male | TL: 1.767 m; WT: 13.82 kg | Found washed ashore | Deposited at Cibinong Museum | Lumba Lumba Dive Centre ; White et al. | Smallest recorded specimen. On public display. | - | - | - |
| 24 | 19 April 2004 | Ichihara, Tokyo Bay, Japan | Female | TL: 5.63 m; WT: | Found washed ashore | Taxidermy specimen displayed at the Natural History Museum and Institute | Osedo | Survived several days before dying from stress. Identified by Masaki Miya, curator of fishes at the National History Museum and Institute in Chiba. | - | - | - |
| 25 | 23 April 2004 | off Ajiro, Shizuoka, Japan | Female | TL: ~4.9 m | Caught by fishermen | Discarded | Furuta | Japanese newspaper article mentions total length of 5.5-5.6 m and weight of "1", implying over 1 ton. | - | - | - |
| 26 | 4 November 2004 | Barangay Namocon, Tigbauan, Iloilo, Philippines | Female | TL: 5.04 m; WT: ~1 ton | Stranded on beach | Preserved in tank at SEAFDEC Museum | ; Bagarinao | Stranded alive at around 5 pm and died at around 10 pm. Removed from the beach by 16 fishermen. Preserved in 10% formalin in a 1-ton fiberglass tank. | - | - | - |
| 27 | 23 January 2005 | off Kisei cho Nishiki, Mie, Japan, at 200 m depth | Female | TL: 5.28 m | Caught in purse seine | Deposited at Toba Aquarium | Furuta | Prepared by taxidermist for display at the aquarium. | - | - | - |
| 28 | 30 January 2005 | Macajalar Bay, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines | Female? | TL: 4.17 m; WT: ~1000 kg | Caught in net | Buried | Elizaga ; Elizaga ; Lumingkit et al. ; Ellorin | Caught by fisherman Sofronio Casañares. It pulled Casañares's paddle-driven banca for around an hour before stopping, apparently due to exhaustion. Specimen was dissected prior to burial. | - | - | - |
| 29 | ~25 April 2005 | Hualien Port, Hualien County, Taiwan | ? | WT: 580 kg | Caught by ocean sunfish driftnetters | Sold at market for human consumption | Wang & Yang | Described by fishermen as "big mouthed shark with no teeth". | - | - | - |
| 30 | 2 May 2005 | Hualien Port, Hualien County, Taiwan | ? | WT: 580 kg | Caught by ocean sunfish driftnetters | Sold at market for human consumption | Wang & Yang | Described by fishermen as "big mouthed shark with no teeth". | - | - | - |
| 31 | 4 May 2005 | Hualien Port, Hualien County, Taiwan | Female | TL: 7.09 m?; WT: 689 kg | Caught by ocean sunfish driftnetter | Dissected at Taipei Zoo/Academia Sinica | Wang & Yang | Presumed to be pregnant based on swollen belly. Measured by Shih-Chu Yang. One ectoparasite collected from specimen. | - | - | - |
| 32 | 5 May 2005 | off Hualien County, Taiwan | Female | WT: 807 kg | Caught by fishermen | Dissected at Taipei Zoo | Wang & Yang | Likely to have been pregnant. Sold directly to Kwung-Tsao Shao of the Academia Sinica. | - | - | - |
| 33 | 5 June 2005 | off Hualien County, Taiwan | ? | WT: 400–500 kg | Caught by fishermen | ? | Lin | Fifth megamouth shark caught in the area within two and a half months. | - | - | - |
| 34 | 26 January 2006 | 4 km off Bayawan City, Negros Oriental, Philippines | Female | TL: 5 m; WT: 1 ton/750 kg | Accidentally caught in fishing net | Buried | ; Sala | Towed by pumpboat of the Bayawan City government to the city's boulevard, but died before it could be released. Very small shrimp found in stomach. | - | - | - |
| 35 | 12 March 2006 | Barra, Macabalan, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines | Female | TL: ; WT: 60–80 kg | Accidentally caught in gillnet | ? | Cabig | Identified by Edward B. Yasay. Animal died before Yasay could study it. | - | - | - |
| 36 | 23 March 2006 | "China Sea" | ? | TL: 4.7 m; WT: 650 kg | Caught by fishermen | ? | Lin | Photograph taken. | - | - | - |
| 37 | 2 May 2006 | Sagami Bay, Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan | Female | TL: 5.7 m | Found alive in a fixed shore net | Dissected and exhibited at the Aburatsubo Marine Park in Kanagawa | Burgess ; Mollet | Could not be initially landed due to adverse wind conditions. Animal was filmed on third day and died soon afterwards. | - | - | - |
| 38 | 16 November 2006 | Tortugas Bay, Baja California, Mexico | Immature female | TL: 2.149 m; WT: 27 kg | Accidentally caught by commercial shark boat | On display at the Regional Fisheries Center of Ensenada | Castillo-Géniz | Accidentally caught by crew of the commercial shark boat F/V Corina del Mar. Examined on November 28 by team of technicians and students led by José Leonardo Castillo-Géniz. Samples taken of stomach contents, teeth, and dermal denticles. | - | - | - |
| 39 | 29 May 2007 | Barangay Tungkop, Minglanilla, Cebu, Philippines | ? | TL: ; WT: ~40–50 kg | Found wounded near shore | ? | Parco ; Parco | Found alive with head wound; died after several hours. | - | - | - |
| 40 | 7 June 2007 | Sagami Bay, Japan | Female | TL: 5.4 m | Caught in net | Released alive | Mollet | Photographed, filmed and tagged prior to release. | - | - | - |
| 41 | 9 July 2007 | 700 km east of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan | Female | TL: 3.6–4 m; WT: 360–450 kg | Caught in purse seine | Deposited at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium | ; Lin ; | Brought to Ishinomaki port and fish market in Miyagi Prefecture. Frozen and transferred to Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Dissected at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium between March 1–3, 2011, in preparation for plastination. During dissection, internal organs were removed, vertebrae sampled for age determination, and head subjected to a CT scan. | - | - | - |
| 42 | 27 September 2007 | Hinunangan, Philippines | ? | TL: 2.74 m | Found dead on beach | ? | Tajonera | Weight unknown. Photographed by Marlou Pan. | - | - | - |
| 43 | around 30 June 2008 | off Taiwan | ? | WT: 200+ kg | "Captured" | ? | Mollet ; Burgess | Reported by Victor Lin. No photograph and no length or sex data available. | - | - | - |
| 44 | 10 July 2008 | off eastern Taiwan | Female? | TL: ~5–5.5 m; WT: 870 kg | "Caught" | ? | Mollet ; Burgess | Claimed to be 9 m long in media reports. | - | - | - |
| 45 | 5 September 2008 | Hinunangan, Philippines | ? | TL: 2.13 m | Found stranded alive | Pushed back into water, presumably swam away | Tajonera | No photographs taken. Identified by AT-Fisheries. | - | - | - |
| 46 | 30 March 2009 | off eastern coast of Burias Island, Philippines, at ~200 m depth | Male | TL: 4 m; WT: ~400–500 kg | Caught in gillnet by fishermen targeting Rastrelliger kanagurta and Auxis rochei | Consumed | Aca ; Dell'Amore | Died during capture. Tied up and towed to Barangay Dancalan, Donsol, Sorsogon. Identified by Elson Aca of WWF. Cuts found near left side of mouth. Several shrimp larvae found in stomach. | - | - | - |
| 47 | 9 June 2009 | off eastern Taiwan | Female? | TL: 3.90 m; WT: 350 kg | Caught by fishermen from Taitung County | Preserved at local shark museum | Lin | Bought by local shark museum to be mounted for display. | - | - | - |
| 48 | 9 July 2009 | Praia Grande, Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Male | TL: 5.39 m | Found dead on beach | Partially consumed by locals | Lima et al. ; Gomes & Buttigieg ; Mollet | Appeared to have died of natural causes. Autopsy revealed empty stomach. | - | - | - |
| 49 | 9 July 2009 | 700 km off Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan | Female | TL: 4 m; WT: 450 kg | "Caught" | Flesh sold at market for consumption at Ishinomaki | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312130501/http://www.sanriku-kahoku.com/news/2007_07/i/070718i-same.html | publisher=:ja:河北新報社|The Kahoku Shimpo | - | - | - |
| 50 | 6 November 2009 | southwest of Benitos Islands, Mexico | ? | TL: 2 m | Caught in fishing net | ? | Camacho | Caught by Ensenada fishermen on vessel Famtasma del Mar, captained by Eden Ruvicel. | - | - | - |
| 51 | 25 April 2010 | Taiwan Strait, off southeastern China | Male | TL: ≥4 m; WT: >1000 kg; WT: 100–200 kg | "Caught" | Flesh cut into chunks and sold at market for consumption; skin and jaw saved; to be donated to educational facility | Lin | Photographs taken of skinned specimen only. | - | - | - |
| 52 | 19 June 2010 | off eastern Taiwan | ? | WT: ~770 kg | "Caught" | Flesh sold at market for consumption; jaw saved | Lin ; Mollet | Purchased by fish dealer in northeastern Taiwan "in poor condition, described as tattered and broken or perhaps even cut open". Photographs taken of jaw and flesh chunks only. | - | - | - |
| 53 | 14 January 2011 | 500m off Owase, Mie, Japan | ? | TL : 5 m | "Bycaught and fled by itself" | ? | Found being entrapped in a set net in early morning, and on 15th, an aquarium at Osaka tried to purchase the individual alive and make it the first exhibition of live animal in the world, but the shark was found missing in 6am, likely to surpass the net rather than breaking through it. | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010231419/http://mytown.asahi.com/areanews/mie/NGY201101170031.html | title=希少サメ「メガマウス」逃げられた 尾鷲・九鬼町沖 | The Asahi Shimbun | date = 2011-01-14 |
| 54 | 12 June 2011 | Bahía de Vizcaíno, off western Baja California peninsula, Mexico | Immature male | TL: 3 m | "Caught" | ? | Falcón | Sent to Ensenada, Mexico, to be sliced into pieces, examined, and photographed. Gill and muscle structure studied by researchers from Mexico and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Captured by same vessel that caught specimen #38. | - | - | - |
| 55 | 1 July 2011 | Odawara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan | Female | TL: ~3 m | ? | Deposited at Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History | Mollet ; Burgess | Information and photographs provided by Alex Buttigieg. While some fishermen claimed that another shark shored at Ishibashi area nearby was even bigger, the others consider that this report was of the same individual. | - | - | - |
| 56 | January 2012 | "Sea of China" | ? | TL: 5.65–5.70 m; WT: 1150–1250 kg | ? | ? | Mollet | Information and photographs provided by Victor Lin. | - | - | - |
| 57 | 16 October 2012 | off eastern Taiwan | Female | TL: 6 m ; WT: 800–900 kg | "Caught" | Organs preserved and donated to unspecified university; meat sold | Lin | Tail broke off during recovery. Total intact length estimated by fish dealer who purchased specimen. | - | - | - |
| 58 | 14 April 2014 | off Shizuoka, Japan | Female | TL: 4.4 meters; WT: not reported | "Caught" | Autopsy scheduled for May 2014 | NHK News Web | Specimen will be studied at Tokai University Marine Science Museum, Shizuoka, Japan | - | - | - |
| 59 | 24 December 2014 | off Futo, Itō, Shizuoka, Japan | ? | ? | Entrapped in set nets and was released | The shark was released because it was too big to bring ashore. | journal=板鰓類研究会報第51号 | author= Fujii M.. from :ja:下田海中水族館|Shimoda Aquarium | title= 伊豆東海岸定置網へのメガマウスザメ混獲事例より | - | |
| 60 | 28 January 2015 | off Albay, Philippines | Male | ? | Washed ashore | Preserved on ice pending necropsy and display | - | - | - | - | |
| 61 | 2 June 2015 | Nghệ An Province, Vietnam | ? | TL: 5 m; WT: 800–900 kg | Washed ashore | - | - | - | |||
| 62 | 18 April 2016 | 5km off Owase, Mie, Japan | ? | TL: 5 m; WT: 1000 kg | Bycatch in seine nets | Purchased with a successful bid by a local fishmonger, then was delivered to a national research institute, kept in a fledge | publisher=Chunichi Shimbun and Chūkyō Television Broadcasting | - | - | - |
On June 11, 2017 an approximately 4 m long megamouth shark was found alive but dying around 9:00 p.m. at Bgy Pondol, Hinunangan, southern Leyte, Philippines. The people in the community tried to push the shark back to the ocean but it had no strength to swim again and was carried back to shore by the current. It had a lot of scratches and wounds on its body, although no particular reason for the shark to be dying was evident. After the shark died, it was decided bury the dead body early in the morning to make sure no one would be able to try it as a meal.
Measurements
- BD – body diameter.
- PCL – precaudal length, also known as normal length. It is the length from the tip of the snout to the precaudal pit measured in a straight line.
- TL – total length from the tip of the snout to the tip of the longer lobe of the caudal fin, usually measured with the lobes compressed along the midline. It is a straight line measure, not measured over the curve of the body.
- WT – total mass of specimen.