Scientists Baffled To Find Sharks Living Inside An Active Volcano

[WillParkinson]

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/rarely-sighted-pacific-sleeper-shark-surprises-scientists-papua-new-guinea


A shark surprised a team of researchers exploring the Solomon Islands – by turning up fairly unexpected place.

Sleeper sharks, though rarely observed, are native to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as Antarctica and Tasmania. But this Pacific sleeper shark startled researchers, showing up just east of Papua New Guinea inside an active volcano.

"We were freaking out," said University of Rhode Island Ph.D student Brennan Phillips to National Geographic.

Observing volcanic activity earlier this year, Phillips and his colleagues were dropping video camera packages into the deep sea near to the Solomon Islands. After retrieving the footage of one such “drop”, they noticed something strange and blob-like on one of the video’s thumbnails.

The odd, “large brown blob” was later identified through its coloration and physical characteristics as a Pacific sleeper shark, which makes the volcanologists’ sighting the southernmost ever of the species ever documented.

[n2doc]

1. Sharkano! The eruption!

I can just see it now.

[WillParkinson]

3. I admit, I giggled....

Okay, fine, I snorted.

[blm]

4. heheh

.

[WillParkinson]

6. Copyright it now....

Before SyFy gets to it.

[BrotherIvan]

2. Amazing

The ocean never ceases to amaze.

[Thor_MN]

5. Did they get footage of the fricking laser beam on its forehead?

[Euphoria]

7. ohhh, do be-have! n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

9. I used to think you were crazy

https://m.

[douggg]

8. "southernmost"?

The Solomon Islands are south of Antarctica?