#shark science

[arisharkboi]

I've just learned that the USPS has stamps commemorating Eugenie Clark, an incredibly influential marine biologist, shark researcher, and SCUBA pioneer (and my personal hero!!!) Not only do you get cool stamps promoting women in marine science, you also get to support the USPS!

[nwmo]

LITTLE GUY SPOTTED

[feelingautistic]

Exciting news for the cute shark lovers of the world! We finally have a recorded sighting of a baby great white shark, likely only a few hours old.

The question of where great white sharks give birth still remains a mystery to this day but this footage may suggest the coasts of California, where the footage was taken, are a site where these sharks give birth.

[marinememes]

[jellyfishmakeoutparty]

the fact that I will never truly know what it’s like to be a shark in a shark cuddle pile is cruel and unusual punishment.

absolutely devastating.

[brine-pool-body]

dump of my favorite marine biology memes 🦑🐠🦈🪸

[sharkiedays]

Idk seems friendly enough

[amnhnyc]

The noggin of a hammerhead shark does more than just enhance its good looks. This shark’s uniquely-shaped head improves its sense of smell as well as electroreception! Widely spaced nostrils, and greatly enlarged scent organs on its snout, enable it to detect the direction a scent is coming from. And wide-set eyes provide excellent 3D vision. Fun fact: of the some 400 shark species known to science, only 9 are hammerheads.

Photo: Mark Chivers, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr

[the-wolf-and-moon]

LDN 1235, Shark

[todropscience]

THREE NEW SHARK SPECIES THIS WEEK!

The second week of July 2023 something extraordinarily beautiful happened, the findings of 3 new species of sharks for were announced

A new angel sharks species was identified, from the western Indian Ocean on the Mascarene Plateau and off southwestern India in 100–500 m depths, the Lea’s angel shark Squatina leae, was recognized to be different genetically and morphologically distinct from its congeneric species Squatina africanae, following unique morphological features.  This species was first detected in 1988 after finding  three unusual, small sharks, but till today was completely understood. The angel shark is named after one of the author’s fiancee’s late sister, Lea-Marie Cordt.

-  Squatina leae, adult male, in dorsolateral.

Angel sharks are “flatter sharks”, possesing distinctly broad, dorsoventrally flattened bodies, a short snout with large mouth and nostrils, eyes on top of the head close to the large spiracles, very large pectoral fins, and a lateral caudal keel. They've evolved to be ambush predators, they lie in wait for prey to pass closely overhead before attacking.

Reference (Open Access):  Weigmann et al., 2023. Revision of the Western Indian Ocean Angel Sharks, Genus Squatina (Squatiniformes, Squatinidae), with Description of a New Species and Redescription of the African Angel Shark Squatina africana Regan, 1908. Biology 

From North Australia, another species of hornshark is described based on six whole specimens and a single egg case. The painted hornshark Heterodontus marshallae was previously considered to be the same with the zebra bullhead shark another well know bullhead shark from the central Indo-Pacific from Japan  to Australia, but genetic and morphological analyses indicated the sharks were different, but looking alike. The painted hornshark is endemic to northwestern Australia and occurs in deeper waters, at 125–229 m below surface.

-  Lateral view of two mature female painted hornshark Heterodontus marshallae showing small differences between individuals

The painted hornsharks is named in honour of Dr. Lindsay Marshall www.stickfigurefish.com.au a scientific illustrator and elasmobranch scientist who expertly painted all the sharks and rays of the world for the Chondrichthyan Tree of Life Project.

Reference (Open Access): White et al., 2023 Species in Disguise: A New Species of Hornshark from Northern Australia (Heterodontiformes: Heterodontidae). Diversity.

And from an unidentified shark egg collected from the deep waters of northwestern Australia, in 2011 recently helped researchers identify a new species of deep water cat shark. Called ridged-egg catshark Apristurus ovicorrugatus after its eggs, it was collected in the earlys 90 but remained unknown to date. This sharks presents white eyes, and is small in size, reaching less than a half meter in length. .

- Lateral view of female Apristurus ovicorrugatus before preserved. Photo by  CSIRO. 

Egg cases belonging to this species had been documented as early as the 1980s, but could not be matched to any species of Australian shark until recently scientists examined a shark specimen of previously uncertain identity in the CSIRO collection.

 -egg cases of Apristurus ovicorrugatus. Scale bar is 10 mm

Reference (Open Access) White,et al., 2023 What came first, the shark or the egg? Discovery of a new species of deepwater shark by investigation of egg case morphology. Journal of Fish Biology.

[protectoursharks]

Any fun facts about basking sharks? (Really big sea puppies)

Cetorhinus maximus or Basking Shark

These are the second largest shark and fish in the world (after the whale shark), they can grow to be 12 m (40 ft) long!

Also like whale sharks, they're ram filter feeders. This means that to catch prey, they simply open their mouths, swim forward, and catch whatever happens to get in their way! This is why they (and other ram filter feeders) tend to have such large mouths. The basking sharks mouth can be up to 1 m (3ft wide).

While sharks are mostly thought to be solitary creatures, a lot of species do school and the basking shark is one of them! They're usually divided by sex (except during periods of mating), and schools of over 100 females have been spotted!

And probably the coolest fact about them- THEY CAN JUMP OUT OF THE WATER. Despite weighing around 5,000 kg (approx. 11,000 lbs) they can breach 1.2 m (4 ft) into the air! It's believed they do this as a method to remove parasites.

[miriamforster]

I HEARD Y’ALL LIKE SHARKS

Well I ALSO have a big pretty shark book, and it’s 50% on Amazon as of this posting.

[curatorofthisdigitalmorass]

Hajime Sorayama

[feelingautistic]

A group of sharks is called a shiver (although, as fish, they are often simply called a school).

[marinememes]

Today is Wet Beast Wednesday!

Today’s wet beast is: Pipefish

Olive’s wet beast fact: You’re probably thinking that these worm-on-a-string lookin ass creatures look like straightened seahorses. That’s bc they are part of the Syngnathidae family with Seahorses and Sea Dragons. Funky!

Stay tuned for more Wet Beast Wednesdays!

[beracerbera]

Weightlessness

Made of steel, but weightless