Using ultrasound technology, scientists have discovered that the embryos of sharks can move inside the mother from the right to the left in the uterus and eat their brethren.
It had been previously known that embryos of some shark species eat each other in the womb. However, the new device has given biologists the latest information about this cannibalism, showing that embryos are not simply eating each other, but can travel between uteri in search of a victim.
The study was published in this month’s issue of the journal, Ethology.
In most animals embryonic movement is extremely limited. Researchers from the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Japan, were surprised to find that the unborn babies of Indian nurse sharks move from one uterus to another.
Similar observations had been made during invasive surgical procedures. The study was the first to use the ultrasound technology on sharks in their native habitat. Researchers believe that this unique behavior can be one of the ways of how some species of sharks provide food for their developing embryos.