Even slight increases in ocean temperatures may affect a shark’s brain function and cognitive development, according to a study from the Macquarie University Fish Lab. Researchers found that by raising the temperature of a shark embryo’s environment by 3 degrees Celsius, those that survived had “stronger laterality, suggesting enhanced cognitive abilities.” “Shark brains are very similar to […]
Sharks can learn jazz appreciation
Researchers from the Macquarie University Fish Lab have discovered that some species of sharks are able to take audio cues from music. And that they seem to prefer the smooth tones of jazz. “Sound is really important for aquatic animals, it travels well under water and fish use it to find food, hiding places and […]
Scientists detail evolution of sharks’ electroreceptive senses
A recent study led by Benedict King And John Long and published in the journal Palaeontology, details how this electroreception may have evolved in placoderm fishes, the evolutionary ancestor of all modern sharks. The sharks’ electroreceptors, also known as ampullae of Lorenzini, are jelly-filled tubes that open on the surface of sharks’ skin. Inside, each tube ends […]
Scientists discover new species of six gill shark
Using DNA analysis researchers from the Florida Institute of Technology have confirmed that sixgill sharks residing in the Atlantic Ocean are an independent species from those found in the Indian and Pacific. The report was published this week in the journal Marine Biodiversity. The new species will now be known as Atlantic sixgill shark, or Hexanchus […]
Study shows ancient arctic sharks tolerated brackish water
Sharks were a tolerant bunch some 50 million years ago, cruising an Arctic Ocean that contained about the same percentage of freshwater as Louisiana’s Lake Ponchatrain does today, says a new study involving the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Chicago. The study indicates the Eocene Arctic sand tiger shark, a member of […]
New species of prehistoric, plankton-eating shark discovered
An international team of scientists has discovered a new lineage of extinct plankton-feeding sharks, Pseudomegachasma, that lived in warm oceans during the age of the dinosaurs nearly 100 million years ago. The fossil sharks had tiny teeth very similar to a modern-day, plankton-eating megamouth shark. The study, “A new clade of putative plankton-feeding sharks from […]
Study finds sharks high in neurotoxins linked to Alzheimer’s
In a new study, University of Miami (UM) scientists found high concentrations of toxins linked to neurodegenerative diseases in the fins and muscles of 10 species of sharks. The research team suggests that restricting consumption of sharks can have positive health benefits for consumers and for shark conservation, since several of the sharks analyzed in […]
Monogamy could hinder long-term tiger shark populations
Tiger sharks appear to be genetically monogamous – and it could be putting the species at risk. University of Queensland research has found tiger sharks differ from many other sharks in that they don’t use multiple paternity as a reproductive strategy. UQ researcher Dr. Bonnie Holmes said multiple paternity occurred when a single litter of […]
New shark named after Alabama coaching legend Bear Bryant
A new species of ancient shark has been named in honor of Alabama football coaching legend Paul “Bear” Bryant. The species, Cretalamna bryanti, was discovered by scientists studying fossils housed in the collections of the McWane Science Center and the Alabama Museum of Natural History. The large-toothed shark lived during the Late Cretacious Period nearly 83 […]
Study shows shark species can be vegetarians
A new study presented at the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology’s annual meeting showed that bonnethead sharks can survive on a vegetarian diet. The research by Samantha Leigh, a doctoral candidate at the University of California-Irvine, examined the stomach contents for the species and found that over 60 percent of the material in their stomachs of younger specimens was […]