Megamouth shark by Leighton Taylor showed it to be an entirely unknown type of shark, making it – along with the coelacanth – one of the more sensational discoveries in 20th-century ichthyology. The pectoral fin of the megamouth shark was studied, along with the skeletal and muscular system of the megamouth shark to show its phylogenetic relationship to the other two sharks. , only 99 megamouth specimens had been caught or sighted. They have been found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan have each yielded at least 10 specimens, the most of any single area, amounting
Fear of fish by what is now called graduated exposure therapy: In contrast, radical exposure therapy was used successfully to cure a man with a "life affecting" fish phobia on the 2007 documentary series, "The Panic Room". Historically, the Navajo people were described as being ichthyophobic, due to their aversion to fish. However, this was later recognised as a cultural or mythic aversion to aquatic animals, and not a psychological condition. The "Journal of the American Medical Association" have published a research paper addressing the fears of eating fish because contaminants, such as mercury may be accumulated in fish. In his autobiography, Italian