Researchers withdrew work allegedly documenting the first goblin shark in the Mediterranean Sea, after others pointed out suspiciously toy-like features.

The new study reports that the goblin shark photo was taken on August 25, 2020, “found by a citizen on Klisidi beach of Anafi Island,” credited to Giannis Papadakis.

If the question was, “what shark is this?,” “goblin shark” would be the correct answer. To other researchers, though, the photo looked fishy. Or rather: It looked suspiciously un-fishy.

The first alleged goblin shark documented in the Mediterranean Sea has drawn suspicion from marine biologists and others.

The published photo of a deep-sea goblin shark washed up on a Greek beach was retracted on March 20 after other experts questioned if it was a toy.

Photos of a plastic goblin shark toy that looked suspiciously similar to the specimen spotted in Greece made the rounds on social media.

Scientists reported the rare discovery of what they said was a goblin shark that had washed ashore on a Greek beach. They might have been mistaken.

Last year, scientists described a weird goblin shark in a scientific journal despite never setting eyes on it. Experts now question the review process that approved the study.

A fisherman has shared a picture of his latest deep-sea find – a prehistoric goblin shark. Roman Fedortsov, a deep-sea fisherman working on a trawler in Murmansk in the northwest part of Russia ...

A controversy in the world of shark science has come to a close. A group of scientists who published a record of what would be the first-ever goblin shark found in the Mediterranean Sea have ...

Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / AlamyThis story has been updated.A controversy is raging within the small but fiercely passionate world of ichthyology (the study of fishes).