New Shark Discovery Might Lead to Change Regarding Overfishing

Image Credit: Ivy Baremore

Recently, an international team of marine biologist from both the United States and Belize have discovered that the sixgill shark (Hexanchus nakamurai) from the Atlantic are different from the ones found in the Indian and Pacific.

When comparing the two, the Atlantic type displays a saw-like lower tooth and six gill slits, while most other sharks only have five. They are also different on the molecular level.

The team confirmed the data using 1310 base pairs of the two mitochondrial genes. In the end, the changes were large enough for a separate rename of Hexanchus vitulus.

Quote from Dr. Toby Daly-Engel, Florida Institute of Technology, “We understand that if we overfish one of them, they will not replenish from elsewhere in the world.



Read more about this fascinating story at: www.sci-news.com