MEGAMOUTH
				Megachasma pelagio
	A U.S. Navy research ship(AFB-14) pulled a 1,653 lb plankton eater out of the depths in 1976. They discovered the previously unkown, ancient shark. It tried to swallow the ships anchor at 500 ft. It was 14 1/2 ft long, weighed 1,653 lbs., and was male. It has a luminescent tissue inside its mouth, which is believed to attract plankton, deep sea shrimp, and other prey into its mouth as it cruises the depths with it's huge mouth open. (Shrimp and plankton were found inside of its stomach.) Another wasn't found until 1984, off of Southern California. It was assigned its own family, Megachasmae. Its common name, megamouth, was given to it because of its large, gaping mouth. It's scientific name is Megachasma pelagio.   As of 1998, 11 megamouths had been found, but only two were female. The largest megamouth found was the 16 1/2 ft long female. She weighed 1,700 lbs.
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