Illustration of a pocket shark. The red arrow points to the shark’s pocket. (Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries)
A small and rare species of shark has been observed for the second time only in history. Only 5 and a half inches long, it’s called “pocket” because of a distinctive ‘pocket’ gland above the pectoral fin.
Researchers have found the rare specimen in the frozen remain of midwater trawl survey performed in the northern Gulf of Mexico back in 2010. The only other known specimen was found off Peru, 36 years ago.
Original research paper published in Zootaxa on April 22, 2015.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
