A freshly-dead fenale megamouth shark, Megachama pelagios, was collected on 29 November 1994 from Hakata Bay, Fukuoka, Japan. On 15 November 1976, first megamouth shark was caught in Hawaii, and the specimen was described as a new species, genus, and family. Seven additional specimens have been reported from California, Western Australia, Japan, Senegal and Brazil. This seventh specimen from Hakata Bay is the only female ever captured.
Biology of the Megamouth Shark contains 21 reports on the biological aspects of the female megamouth shark. The contents include capture records, the freezing, thawing, preservation, and display methodolpgies, X-ray observations, molecular physiology, external morphology, internal morphology, histological observations of reproductive organs and other viscera, a biochemical study of the liver oil and bile salts, and descriptions of external and internal paradites of the megamouth shark.