Found dead and washed up on a British beach, a baby shark was not fully developed. Indeed, he was probably aborted by his mother. Explanations.
A beached baby shark
The baby shark was found on May 13 on Southbourne Beach in Bournemouth, southern England, as reported Bournemouth Echo. It has been identified as a common thresher shark or Alopias vulpinus. This specimen is rarely seen although it is common. “It was quite a surprise to learn that a thresher shark had washed ashore”explained to LiveScience Georgia Jones, a conservation ecologist at Bournemouth University who autopsied the shark’s remains. “We captured and released some locally, but this is the first to be stranded. »
This species of shark can be up to six meters long. It has a long, crescent-shaped tail, which it uses to whip its prey into the water. “Thresher sharks are notoriously elusive and are rarely seen near the UK coast as they live in deeper water”added the specialist.
An aborted baby
The baby shark found is tiny in size and has several abnormalities like missing front teeth and missing growth rings in its vertebrae. Georgia Jones therefore believes that he may have been aborted by his mother. “Abortion is more common in sharks and rays than previously thought and has been recorded in species closely related to thresher sharks. »
As explained in 2018 in a study published in the journal Biological Conservation, abortions in these animals can be triggered by high stress often caused by a predator or the presence of humans. Regarding this deceased specimen, it is likely that the abortion was triggered in the mother after being captured by accident by fishermen.
An unusual physiology
The analysis of the premature animal’s body also provided an opportunity for Georgia Jones to study the unusual physiology of thresher sharks. While the bulk of sharks are cold blooded, thresher sharks are warm blooded. They therefore have different muscles and a complex system of blood vessels. They also have “warm brains and eyes so they can perform exceptionally well in colder waters and improve their swimming performance”.
“The south coast of the UK is a hotspot for thresher sharks as the area is part of an important migration route for the species, and the mother shark may have traveled along this route when she aborted her baby, added Georgia Jones. However, experts still do not know where exactly this dead baby thresher shark came from. His condition suggests that he had been in the water for several days and would have floated a great distance.
[related_posts_by_tax taxonomies=”post_tag”]
The post Dead stranded on a British beach, this baby shark would have been aborted appeared first on Gamingsym.