The new species has been discovered thanks to eggs from more than a decade ago.
More than a decade ago, on the western shores of Australia, a team of scientists discovered the corpse of a demon shark specimen. She was a pregnant female, and her eggs they were moved to a museum, where they have remained on display ever since. This type of sharks belongs to a huge family, they are known colloquially as ghost shark or demon sharkand currently more than 40 different species Worldwide. They are characterized by their squashed appearance and completely white eyes, which are the main reason why they have earned the creepy pseudonym.
The female they found was identified as “Apristurus sinensis”a subspecies native of south china. It is not the first time that scientists have observed this species, so after removing the eggs, they sent them directly to the museum. However, recent research published in the Journal of Fish Biology has revealed that the egg that rested in the museum does not fit with the morphology of the “sinensis”, in fact it doesn’t fit with any demon shark subspecies we’ve ever seen. During the investigation they came across another egg, discovered in 2011 with a shark embryo inside, and which until now remained unidentified. It turns out that matched the one on display in the museum.
The study of the eggs has revealed that we had the wrong species 10 years ago
After extensive analysis, the researchers concluded that it was a new species of sharkwhich they baptized as Apristurus ovicorrugatus. The name comes from the particular shape of its eggs, with very distinctive longitudinal ridges which were T-shaped in cross section. Most sharks on the planet they give birth to young directly, but there are some species that are oviparous. Their eggs are elongated and often have a kind of “tentacles” that help them move. adhere to rocks or marine florawhere they remain fixed until the moment of hatching.
This great discovery highlights the importance of studying the eggs of these species, since once they grow They are very easy animals to confuse with each other.. With more than 40 species of demon shark on the planet it is easy to screw up, but although this time they have been slow more than 10 years to realize, we can celebrate the discovery of a new shark. It is paradoxical that the “birth” of this new species was thanks to eggs that had been on display in a museum for more than 10 years.