Reuters — A rare frilled shark was captured alive by fishermen off the coast of Japan. The toothy eel-like creature was taken to Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka where it later died.

The 5-foot (1.6 meter) long shark was likely ill based upon the shallow waters it was swimming in. Generally this ancient species, called Chlamydoselachus anguineus and now confirmed as a living fossil, normally lives at a depth of 488-4550 feet (150-1400 m). This was a unique find since this species is considered a prehistoric shark and appears to not have changed at all over the past several millions of years.

“We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare,” stated a park official to the news outlet. “They live between 600 and 1000 metres under the water, which is deeper than humans can go. We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters.”