4. Megamouth Shark

This tank contains a 5.2m long male Megamouth shark that washed up on a beach in Mandurah some 50km south of Perth in August 1988.  Megamouth sharks (Megachasma pelagios) are one of the rarest types of shark in the world. Our Megamouth was the third specimen to be discovered.

Megamouth sharks feed on plankton and krill and live in very deep waters, rising towards the surface at night to feed.  It was preserved in formalin before being stored in ethanol in a below ground tank in the WA Museum in Perth.

As part of our ongoing efforts to preserve and care for our collections, the Megamouth was removed from ethanol and soaked in aqueous glycerol solutions for nearly three years.  As a result, our shark specimen is now more flexible, less shrivelled and has plumped up by 115kg, so now it weighs in at 484kg.