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100th Featured Species: Whorl-Tooth Shark (Helicoprion spp.)

intro

fossilization process

distribution

FIGURE 1. Early Permian paleogeography of Helicoprion specimens. 1 Phosphoria Sea: Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, U.S.A.; 2 Eastern Panthalassia: Alberta–British Columbia, Canada; 3 Nevada–California, U.S.A; 4 Texas, USA; 5 Mexico; 6 Laurussian epeiric sea: Melville Island, Canada; 7 Ellesmere Island, Canada; 8 Spitsbergen, Norway; 9middle Urals, Russia;…

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Featured Species: Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)

This week’s featured species is one of the most beautiful species of rays I have ever seen and is probably the species I want to personally see the most on a dive. It’s the Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio), a member of the Myliobatidae family, which if you recall also contains the Bat Eagle Ray (Myliobatis californica) and the Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari). The ornate eagle ray…

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Featured Species: Sicklefin Lemon Shark (Negaprion acutidens)

This week’s featured species comes to us from the Indo-Pacific and has skin the color the sun! Meet the Sicklefin Lemon Shark (Negaprion acutidens), kissing cousin of the more commonly known lemon shark (Negaoprion brevirostris). Both the sicklefin lemon and lemon sharks are in the family Carcharhinidae, which has over 59 species of medium to large bodied sharks. The sicklefin lemon shark…

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Featured Species: Bigeye Sand Tiger Shark (Odontaspis noronhai)

This week’s featured species is one of three species of shark in the family Odontaspididae, commonly referred to as the ragged tooth sharks. The Bigeye Sand Tiger Shark (Odontaspis noronhai) is a large bodied shark, typically reaching lengths around 12 to 14 feet (3.6 to 4.27 m) (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). They are found in deep waters between 1968 – 3280 feet (600 – 1,000 m) along the bottom…

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Featured Species: Viper Dogfish (Trigonognathus kabeyai)

This week's featured species looks like it was ripped out of the sci-fi classic Aliens! Meet the Viper Dogfish!

This week’s featured species is a deep water shark that is straight out of a sci-fi film. The Viper Dogfish (Trigonognathus kabeyai) is a member of the family Etmopteridae, which is the largest family of squaloid sharks with over fifty species in four genera. There is some debate on whether this family should be broken up into two clades; however, at present, the family Etmopteridae consists of…

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FINtastic Shark Swag For Shark Fest and Shark Week 2019

In celebration of Nat Geo’s THREE week long Shark Fest and Discovery’s Shark Week, it’s time for another addition of Shark Swag that Supports Shark Conservation and Research! It’s the best kind of shark swag and let’s face it, we can never get enough!

Ocean for Sharks Shop

Be sure to stop by the new Ocean For Sharks Shop! There’s handmade ocean inspired plush animals, canvas paintings, of…

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Featured Species: Giant Devil Ray (Mobula mobular)

This week’s featured species glides through the water like an angel, but it is named for its devilish appearance. The Giant Devil Ray (Mobula mobular) belongs to the family Mobulidae which includes other manta and devil rays like the Giant Manta Ray (Mobula birostris) (Tricas et al.,1997). Unlike the manta rays, the devil rays have sharp spines along its tail. These spines are venomous and are…

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Featured Species: Smooth Hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena)

This week’s featured species is one of the larger species of hammerhead sharks. The Smooth Hammerhead (Sphyrna zygaena) is a large bodied hammerhead that grows up to 13 feet (4 m) (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). They have a tall first dorsal fin with a low second dorsal and pectoral fins. The smooth hammerhead can vary in coloration from olive-gray to dark gray dorsally with a white underbelly…

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Scientists Capture Whale Shark Mating Behavior for the First Time Ever

For its massive size, we know very little about whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). Much of their ovovivparous reproductive mechanisms are known from only a single pregnant female which was commercially caught by harpoon in Taiwan in July 1995 (Joung, Chen, Clark, Uchida, & Huang, 1996). The “megamamma” was found to have over 300 developing embryos, all at different stages of development. Some still…

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Featured Species: Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus)

This week’s featured species is a highly skilled oceanic predator who was recently reclassified as an Endangered Species. The Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus) is a member of the family Lamnidae and the closest cousin to the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). They have long gills, large eyes, and wicked looking teeth that protrude from their lower jaw. They are aptly named the longfin mako because of…

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New Shark Species Described to Science: American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis)

A new paper published in the journal Zootaxa describes a new kitefin shark species for the first time. Newly described Mollisquama mississippiensissp. nov. belongs to the family Dalatiidae. This family contains 11 described species in seven genera. Dalatiidae sharks are found almost worldwide, preferring deepwater, open ocean habitats in temperate and tropical seas (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015).…

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Featured Species: Sixgill Sawshark (Pliotrema warreni)

This week’s featured species is a very unique and beautiful species, and one of my favorites (have you lost track how many favorites I have yet?!). The Sixgill Sawshark (Pliotrema warreni) is a slender shark species endemic to the southern tip of Africa. Like other sawsharks, they are named for their long, saw-like rostra; but unlike other sawsharks, the sixgill sawshark is the only species to…

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Protections for the Critically Endangered Largetooth Sawfish Increased in the Caribbean

Earlier this week, on June 5th World Environment Day, 17 Caribbean countries unanimously agreed to extend further protections to the critically endangered Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis). The largetooth sawfish is a member of the family Pristidae. Though sawfish may look like sharks with their wide, broad pectoral fins and high dorsal fin, they are actually a species of ray. The largetooth…

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Featured Species: Bigeye Thresher (Alopias superciliosus)

This week’s featured species is the last, but certainly not least, of the weird and wild thresher sharks: the Bigeye Thresher Shark (Alopias superciliosus). The bigeye thresher distinguished from the thresher sharks by its distinct, huge eyes that extend along its flat topped head into deep groves (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). The big eye thresher also has deep horizontal grooves that extend…

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Featured Species: Caribbean Rough Shark (Oxynotus caribbaeus)

This week’s featured species is one of my favorite shark species, despite how little we know about them! The Caribbean Rough Shark (Oxynotus caribbaeus) is a small, deep water shark found in the Caribbean Sea. Their dorsal fins are tall with narrow, triangular tips and concave trailing edges (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). Like many small shark species, they have spines along the leading edges of…

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New Study Reveals New Life History Characteristics of the Australian Blackspot Shark (Carcharhinus coatesi)

A study published this earlier this month in the journal of Pacific Conservation Biology has shed some light on the life history characteristics of the Australian Blackspot Shark (Carcharhinus coatesi) of Papua New Guinea and demonstrates the importance of studying data deficient populations. The Australian blackspot shark, also known as the Coates’s shark, is a small and slender shark has only…

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Featured Species: Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

This week’s featured species is known for their black tipped fins and large schooling migrations. The Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) is a moderately large, stout shark with a long, narrow, pointed snout and small circular eyes (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). They have moderately large falcated fins with black tips on the pectoral, pelvic, both dorsal fins, and the upper lobe of the…

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