Biggest Porbeagle Shark Caught: What You Need to Know About This Rare Relative of the Great White

A massive female porbeagle shark, believed to be the biggest ever caught was reeled in at Hartland Point in Devon.

The shark, which is estimated to be nine feet long and 500 pounds heavy was reeled in for two hours by Shaun Collins-Lyndsay on a fishing boat chartered by Dan Hawkins, an experienced angler.

"It was huge -- you could see from the size of its belly how big it was," Hawkins said, according to The Sun.

"It could have been 500 lbs -- she was big. It took nearly two hours to reel her in. It's the biggest I've seen. Each crew member had a ten minute turn reeling her in - it was some fight," he continued.

Because of its strength and massive size, it took a lot of effort to measure the girth of the shark with a tape.

The news comes after an impersonator of Frank Sinatra caught an eight-foot porbeagle one mile off the Cornish coast.

Here are some facts about porbeagle sharks:

1. Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus), a relative of the great white, is known for its large, round eyes and stout body. It is usually bluish on its top and has a white belly. 
2. Orma.com notes it is unknown why it is called porbeagle. But most suggest that its name is a combination of "porpoise" and "beagle," for it is fairly porpoise-like.
3. They have a wide range of habitat -- both sides of the North Atlantic, around the coasts of North Africa, in the Mediterranean and around Australia and New Zealand.
4. Porbeagle sharks are the most cold-tolerant pelagic shark species in the world. They can adjust their body temperature to survive in cold waters.
5. According to Nature Canada, it ranks at the very top of the food chain and is the top predator in its own territory. Its diet includes mackerel, herring and squid, as well as shellfish.
6. There are no known incident where a porbeagle shark attacked or harmed humans in any form.
7. British Sea Fishing said porbeagle sharks are considered commercially valuable because of their meat. It reportedly costs considerably more per kilo than other shark species.
8. IUCN listed porbeagle sharks as vulnerable in 1996 and nearly threatened in 2000.