Rare footage of deepwater shark eggs in Puerto Rico

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s remote-operated deep sea research vessel captured images of a live shark embryo inside an egg case west of Puerto Rico’s Desecheo Island.

The 22-day mission by by the NOAA’s ROV Deep Discoverer explored waters around Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the deepest dives ever recorded in the region.

“When they tell you, ‘I’ve never seen that before,’ it’s a good indication that it’s a new species or something that’s new to this region,” NOAA expedition coordinator Daniel Wagner said.

The embyro was spotted at a depth of nearly 820 feet. The researchers believe that the egg case is from a type of catshark, one of just 30 percent of sharks that reproduce through eggs and not live birth.

“The embryo is likely that of a catshark in the genus Scyliorhinus, which are known to lay their egg cases on benthic organisms like corals (seen here) and sponges. We have observed adult catsharks in this area during both the 2018 and 2015 Océano Profundo expeditions,” the page said.

In addition, the expedition found geological features up to 3 miles deep, covering an area close to 6,000 square miles, he said. The 19 dives performed by remotely operated vehicles over 145 hours were streamed live over the internet. The sites explored were chosen from a list of 80 submitted by scientists worldwide, including the location of a 1918 earthquake that generated a tsunami, killing more than 100 people in Puerto Rico.