A rarely seen megamouth shark was spotted by a diver near the Indonesian island of Komodo on July 25.
Penny Bielich was diving near Gili Lawa Laut, a tiny island near the northeastern shore of Komodo, when she glimpsed the elusive creature. She managed to capture about half a minute of video, before the shark disappeared into the ocean blues.
“Privileged to see this magnificent creature,” Bielich wrote on Instagram.
The megamouth shark has only been caught or seen about 100 times since its discovery in 1976. It grows to some 16 feet and sports an enormous (up to 4 feet wide) mouth. Similar to the whale shark, it feeds by filtering water through its mouth, catching tiny fish, such as krill.
Since it has been spotted in tropical waters around the world, it’s not listed as endangered. However, because it’s so rare, its accidental catch by fishermen needs to be monitored so it won’t become threatened in the near future, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.