A shocking video shared online reveals the moment a huge shark of a species older than the dinosaurs came into contact with a deep-sea submersible.
Back in July 2019, OceanX - in partnership with the Moore Charitable Foundation and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Vibrant Oceans Initiative - took a ship and a group of researchers to Cape Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
The team explained in the description of the video that it became the first-ever submersible to tag the Bluntnose sixgill shark, which is an ancient species that "predates most dinosaurs, and is a dominant predator of the deep sea ecosystem".
"The lead scientist on the mission, FSU Marine Lab's Dr. Dean Grubbs, has been the first to put a satellite tag on one of these elusive sharks, but until now had only been able to do so by bringing them up to the surface," they added in the description.
Watch the mind-blowing video below:Not much is known about the bluntnose sixgill in popular culture, but marine biologists studying them believe they can grow up to 20 feet long.
Another incredible fact is that the species predates most dinosaurs, meaning they have existed in the seas for tens of millions of years.
The OceanX team certainly achieved their goal of getting up close and personal with the creature, capturing the whole mission on camera.
Launching up out of the murky deep, the creature left the scientist behind the camera stunned as it began eyeing them up. One of the divers can be heard saying: "Oh, wow!" before adding: "Look at the width of that thing!"
The scientists couldn't believe just how massive the female shark was, pointing out that she was larger than the submersible.
Many people expressed their shock at the incredible footage in the comment section, as one user wrote: "I got chills when the shark opened its eyes, never seen anything like that!"
Another said: "This is something out of a sci-fi movie..the creatures we have on this planet are just amazing."
A user pointed out that the shark is "probably older than any living human," noting: "She was probably born before the advent of electricity, and may never have been exposed to this much light in the entire course of her life.
"This shark probably lived through both world wars without so much as noticing them. What an existence. What an absolute beauty," they concluded.
A fourth shared that the predators "retain characteristics of their ancient lineage, that are unchanged from millions of years ago. Most sharks have five gill slits. This species has six".
