LONDON: Measuring less than six inches in length, the newest addition to a rare species of shark looks more like a tiny version of a sperm whale than a terrifying fish for swimmers to fear when taking a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.
Researchers identified the pocket shark in a study released this week, although the fish itself was collected on a research mission five years ago and sent off to researchers at Tulane University.
The specimen waited on ice, with scientists surprised to discover that the little guy was indeed the elusive pocket shark—only the second of its kind to ever be identified. The first of its species was verified in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru in 1979, quite a distance from this new discovery, 190 miles off the coast of Louisiana.
Tulane biologist Michael Doosey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries biologist Mark Grace spent months studying the shark and authored the study. Although it may be small enough to fit in a small pouch, that’s not why the species is called a pocket shark. It gets its name from two pockets tucked beside its front fins. While the use of the pockets isn’t confirmed, the scientists suspect they may be able to emit some sort of fluid that releases pheromones or scares off predators.
And because they identified the shark as a newborn owing to an unhealed umbilical scar, there are likely many others just like it.
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