Fears for the discovery of a strange pocket shark that surprises scientists | Chronic

Scientists have identified a new species of pocket shark (because of its small size), which was found in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

It has been named as an American pocket shark, or "Mollisquama mississippiensis", and measures about 14 centimeters.

One of the traits that has attracted the most attention from researchers is that it ejects a fluorescent fluid that is used to find its prey or predators through bags in the dorsal fins.

The antecedent of another specimen of this species is that of a 40-centimeter female, discovered in 1979 off the coast of Peru, in the Pacific Ocean. It is located in the Zoological Museum of St. Petersburg (Russia).

Biologist Mark Grace of the US National Marine Fisheries Service, who teamed up with professors from Tulane University in New Orleans, discovered this species of pocket sharks in a scientific collection. other fish. University of Florida and New York Museum of Natural History.

"The fact that only one pocket shark has been reported in the Gulf of Mexico and that it's about a new species underscores the limited knowledge we have on the Gulf, especially its deeper waters, and the number of additional species of these species, the waters are waiting to be discovered ", point Henry Bart, Director of the Tulane University Institute for Biodiversity Research. The characteristics of this new species have been published in Zootaxa magazine.