Supposed hybrid blacktip shark off the coast of Australia

According to a recent AFP article, a team of scientists has found the first documented case of hybridization between two different species of sharks. This hybridization was discovered between two species of blacktip sharks, the Australian blacktip and the common blacktip, and the find has been backed up with genetic testing. The Australian species, as its name strongly implies, is a species limited to the warm waters around Australia’s north and east coasts. The common blacktip can tolerate much cooler temperatures and is found worldwide. It is speculated that the Australian blacktip species is adapting to global warming by breeding with the common blacktips, which will likely result in a range expansion for the shark, allowing it to move into cooler waters along Australia’s southern coast. To date, 57 hybrid specimen have been documented, and it is said that some of these hybrids are multiple generation hybrids.

This is certainly an interesting find in the scientific community, but I’m honestly a little surprised shark hybrids haven’t been documented in the past, especially given all of the attention sharks receive from researchers.

The rather bizarre cyclops shark that showed up in the Gulf of California earlier this year was received with mixed belief all over the web. Readers of the story were either amazed by the unusual creature or claimed it to be a fake, and for good reason. After all, in a world of Photoshop and everyone seeking out their 15-minutes of fame, it’s easy to be skeptical when something as unusual as a cyclops shark shows up. To put any doubts to rest though, the one-of-a-kind fish has been proven to be the real thing by researchers.

According to National Geographic, the 22″ long dusky shark fetus was x-rayed and researched by biologists at the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in Mexico, who came to the conclusion that the shark’s congenital condition was in fact real. Further backing up their data, the cyclops condition has been documented in shark embryos by scientists a few times before. The researchers also concluded that, despite the eye being fully functional, the shark would probably not live for very long in the wild. This notion is reinforced by the fact that all of the only cyclops sharks ever seen have been embryos.

Shark attacks happen far too often among swimmers, surfers, and spear fishermen, but the usual culprits are bull sharks or some other species that frequent beaches and other populated areas. In a bizarre story out of Hawaii, a swimmer was attacked, but not by the typical sharks. Instead, it was a cookie-cutter shark that decided to snack on the swimmer. The incident is actually a couple of years old now, but recent stories state that the long-distance swimmer was trying to cross a channel during a 30-mile swim at night. The primarily nocturnal shark took a bite out of the swimmer’s chest and calf, making this unusual attack the first ever documented case of a cookie-cutter shark attack on a human.

Cookie-cutter sharks get their name from the shape of the bite wounds left on their victims, which are often fish and whales. Their unusual teeth gouge out a large chunk of flesh, leaving behind a gaping wound. The shark rarely kills it’s target, but the injuries can be severe enough that they could cause massive blood loss. In the case of this diver, death never occurred. However, extensive plastic surgery was needed to fix the wounds.

Another aspect of the cookie-cutter shark’s lifestyle that makes contact with a human extremely rare, other than it’s nocturnal feeding activities, is the fact that these fish inhabit the open tropical ocean. Swimmers and surfers obviously swim near beaches and in shallow waters, but this isn’t the case for the long-distance swimmer that was attacked obviously. These sharks usually hangs out among squid at night, making use of bioluminescence to fit into the crowd. When large predators approach, the shark darts out of the squid and takes a chunk of flesh before quickly returning to the depths. Besides stealth, their massive teeth aid in their slash and grab hunting style. Cookie-cutters have the largest teeth of any shark in relation to the size of their jaws, allowing them to maximize their short time with their victims.

Original story seen on LiveScience via MSNBC.

Watch out Chubs Peterson, there’s a new wildlife hazard at the golf course. The Carbrook Golf Club in Queensland, Australia completely redefines water hazard with their lake residents. Several bull sharks, up to 12, have been confirmed to be living in the lake that borders many of the different holes at the course. Course officials believe that a few sharks washed into the lake during a series of floods in the mid 1990′s, eventually reproducing to grow that number to around a dozen. The presence of the sharks was long thought to be a myth, that is of course until video footage of the sharks was put online.

Course officials are taking full advantage of the sharks’ presence, even hosting a monthly “Shark Lake Challenge”. The sharks obviously make the course unique among every other golf course in the world, and officials do not have any plans to remove them. I can’t say that I blame them, since it is such a cool attraction, but their presence will certainly make you think twice about digging around for that $4 golf ball you just launched into the lake.

Warning! The following video has some rather interesting and colorful narration. It is a funny clip no doubt, but some of the language isn’t quite suitable for all audiences.

Here’s a very funny take on the “ruthless and mean” Great White Sharks, which I will now refer to as Great White Sea Monsters. The footage is taken from old National Geographic clips, but a slight twist has been added. Someone named Randall has included some very interesting narration to the footage, which actually has some fact laced if you can stop laughing long enough to actually catch. Randall’s overreactions and flamboyant outbursts at different portions of the video certainly entertain, as are his scientific inaccuracies. I hate to break it to you Randall, but “Jaws” wasn’t a documentary and humans aren’t the shark analog to vegetables. On a side note, it’s quite difficult to convey sarcasm in writing.

This video is only one of many, which may be an unfortunate thing if you couldn’t stand the clip above. It was borderline I know, but there’s an even funnier clip on honey badgers that I recommend you check out.

I normally try to avoid posting articles this late in the evening, but this one was too crucial to pass up. According to TheHill.com, the US Senate has passed legislation earlier today that would put more restrictions on shark fin trading in the United States. The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. John Kerry, apparently closes several loopholes present in the original ban on shark finning that was created by former president Bill Clinton.

According to summaries, the bill prohibits any vessel from having custody, control, or possession of shark fins without the body of the shark they came from. It also specifies that all sharks caught must be landed with all of their fins naturally attached. Additionally, the Senate bill serves to promote shark conservation internationally, as well as allow the secretary of Commerce to point out nations that have not adopted shark conservation programs similar to those of the US.

Even though this bill has passed the Senate and the White House has passed a version of their own, the Senate bill has not yet received approval from the President. Regardless, it’s nice to see sharks as the priority for at least some politicians.

Image from NOAA

Just yesterday we discussed the fact that bluefin tuna catch quotas were only going to decrease by a slight amount. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) voted to decrease the quotas by a mere 4% for 2011, despite quickly dwindling tuna populations. Sharks and sea turtles, however, got much better news according to a recent CBS article. Conservation groups worldwide agreed that delegates at the conservation conference “took steps in the right direction” to protect oceanic whitetip sharks, various species of hammerhead sharks, and shortfin mako sharks.

Because sharks are becoming targeted more frequently for their fins, many shark populations have declined dramatically. Some species have even declined over 90% in some areas. To help battle these trends, conference delegates voted to ban fishermen from catching and keeping oceanic whitetips, while also placing limits on several species of hammerhead and requiring data to be kept on shortfin makos. Additionally, fisherman will be required to carry special gear to remove hooks from sea turtles that are accidentally caught. Currently, US-based shrimpers are required to use turtle excluding devices (TEDs) in their nets as they trawl, but having something similar implemented worldwide should also improve turtle numbers.

Though the news for bluefin tuna was bittersweet, the regulations seen on oceanic whitetips is fantastic, and we can only hope this ban on sharks continues to grow.

Dried Shark Fins

Shark fin soup is considered a traditional delicacy among people living in Southeast Asia. However, many Chinese residents are beginning to see the light, and are now turning away from shark fin soup due to it’s main ingredient according to Yahoo! News. As its name would indicate, the soup is centered around shark fins, which are cut off of living sharks. The sharks, no longer being of any value, are then tossed back into the ocean where they die  slowly.  The fins are mixed with numerous ingredients (typically abalone, mushrooms, scallops, ham, and chicken broth) and brought to a boil. The shark fins apparently don’t have a taste to them, hence all of the ingredients. Instead, the fins add a unique texture which, along with its fabled medical properties, makes the soup a popular dish.

The soup is currently waning in popularity among the younger population of China. In a world full of instant news and technology, young residents have been exposed to videos and images showing the gruesome act of shark finning. They have responded in large numbers by turning their noses up to the soup, favoring other dishes instead. I’m very happy to be reporting this trend, as I (and I’m sure many others) am a staunch opponent to the practice of shark finning.

To read the original story, please visit Hong Kongers wage campaign against shark fin on Yahoo! News.

Sadly, Shark Week is coming to a close so this will be the last “Shark Fact of the Day”, as we will be reverting back to our standard “Tip of the Day” entries.

Shark attacks on humans are actually quite rare. According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), only 2,251 attacks were recorded since 1580 as of 2009. Of those attacks, only 464 were fatal. On the other end of the spectrum, humans kill up to 70 million sharks annually. Seems a little lopsided and perhaps sharks get a bad rap for what they are. The media certainly glamorizes attacks and pretty much everyone overreacts to the random isolated incidents.

Shark attacks on humans are rarely because the shark wants human meat. The attack is often a case of mistaken identity. A surfer at the water’s surface may look like a sea lion or turtle, and the splashing attracts the shark’s attention. Sharks, being very curious animals, immediately investigate any unusual sights and sounds. They will bump into things or even bite items it doesn’t recognize. This behavior is obviously a great health risk to any surfer or swimmer that catches the sharks attention.