global upheaval: strange pig-faced sea creature discovered in Italian waters | the Chronicle

A surprising discovery took place on the Italian island of Elba, where two naval officers saw that something was floating in the waters, and when they approached with the boat, they took it out and were surprised to find out that it was a pig-faced shark.

Sailors from the Darsena Medicea marina in the town of Portoferraio found a striking shark species. But they quickly dispelled all sorts of doubts about the shark by being identified as a rough angular shark extremely rare (Oxynotus centrina).

The shark is also sometimes known as a “pig-headed shark” than normally lives 700 meters below the surface.

The creature is also on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a Endangered, which implies that its occurrence is very rare.

Despite the discovery three weeks ago, its discovery went viral when photos of the odd-looking sea animal were posted on social media.

The post immediately drew hundreds of comments, including criticism from those who believed the shark he had been captured and killed on purpose.

Shark: specialist word

After removing it from the water, the angular rough shark was taken to the port office to be investigated and ultimately disposed of. The Mirror.

Yuri Tiberto, from the Elba Aquarium, confirmed to local media that it is also not that rare to see it locally. And explained that “It is commonly called ‘pigfish’ because, beyond its face, when it comes out of the water it emits a sort of grunt.”

“In the sea of ​​the Tuscan Archipelago, so rich in biodiversity … it is not uncommon to find this fish. And I can safely say that I often receive reports that tell me about ‘fish’ that ended up in the fishing nets. ” , added.

Tiberto notices that from the start he tried to house it for a while in one of the tanks in the aquarium, but he quickly gave up. “It is a species which does not adapt to captivity”, complaints.

What is the Angular Rough Shark?

Experts have indicated that this animal lives in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, it has a stocky and tall body with a triangular section, with three longitudinal shells at each vertex of the triangle: one interdorsal and two abdominals.

In addition, it has a small head with a short, rounded muzzle and large forward nostrils. The mouth is also very small with full, prominent lips, the eyes are also large, oval and without a nictitating membrane, and it lacks an anal fin.