New shark species discovered in depths of the Atlantic

[Judi Lynn]

USA TODAY NETWORK Rick Neale, Florida Today
Published 10:07 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2018 | Updated 10:07 p.m. ET Feb. 27, 2018



MELBOURNE, Fla. — Lurking in the darkness with large green eyes, sixgill sharks kept their genetic secrets hidden amid the ocean depths since before the age of the dinosaurs.

. . .

Toby Daly-Engel, a shark biologist at the Florida Institute of Technology, has helped solve a taxonomic puzzle and spearhead the discovery of a new deepwater species: the Atlantic sixgill shark.

How so? Daly-Engel and a team of researchers determined that bigeye sixgill sharks in the Atlantic Ocean — specifically Belize, the northern Gulf of Mexico and the Bahamas — differ genetically from their counterparts in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

"This is like discovering a brand new living fossil," Daly-Engel said during an interview in her office at Florida Tech's Shark Conservation Laboratory.

More:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/27/new-shark-species-discovered-atlantic/379990002/

[raven mad]

1. Is it what we long ago Merritt Islanders call a sand shark?

It's what we felt on body boards, they're scratchy and not mean.

FIT rocks......... I helped 3 friends through it.

Melbourne isn't the county seat - but darn if they don't have science!

[jmowreader]

2. No. Different shark.

According to the article, they caught these guys on 8,577-foot longlines baited with tuna heads.

[dameatball]

3. Eric and Don, Jr. will probably want to shoot one.