mxskyastra

[mxskyastra]

NEW HAMMERHEAD SHARK JUST DROPPED

Not every day does a new shark get discovered! Meet the Shovelbill Shark (Sphyrna alleni), a newly described species of hammerhead shark named after Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen. This new species is found in the coastal waters of the Caribbean and southwest Atlantic.

Hammerhead sharks are easily recognized by their laterally expanded and dorsoventrally compressed heads. Genetic studies have revealed that what was once thought to be a single bonnethead species (Sphyrna tiburo) is actually a complex, with Sphyrna alleni now recognized as a separate species. A longtime advocate for wildlife conservation, Paul Allen and his Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supported Global FinPrint, an international survey of the world’s reef sharks and rays. It was during this project that scientists conducted much of the fieldwork necessary to describe this newly recognized species. The Shovelbill Shark is smaller than the bonnethead, with distinct genetic and morphological characteristics, including a different number of vertebrae, which suggest it is separate from other hammerhead species. This new species is distributed from Belize to Southern Brazil, inhabiting estuaries, coral reefs, sandy and muddy bottom beds, seagrasses, and mangroves.

The Shovelbill Shark is a common component of artisanal fisheries in many Latin American countries and currently lacks proper management or protection. Previous reports indicate that this new species is undergoing overexploitation, making it imperative to safeguard their populations and establish fisheries regulations.

Photographs: Above is a male shovelhead shark (Sphyrna alleni), described from the Caribbean and the Southwest Atlantic. Below is Cindy Gonzalez, the lead researcher of the study, tagging the new species Sphyrna alleni (photo courtesy of the Mays Family Foundation).

Reference: Gonzales et al., 2024. Sphyrna alleni sp. nov., a new hammerhead shark (Carcharhiniformes, Sphyrnidae) from the Caribbean and the Southwest Atlantic. Zootaxa.

[mxskyastra]

#cloud #shark

Sharktober prompt #2: Cloud Shark

[mxskyastra]

Newborn baby Epaulette Sharks at the Tennessee Aquarium!

[mxskyastra]

FUCK aliens ! we got these crazy shits under da sea and we’re not payin any attention!!!

[mxskyastra]

they were fast friends

[mxskyastra]

silly

[mxskyastra]

made a really big poster about whale falls for uni this semester. enjoy

[mxskyastra]

Please stop making fun of my big, wet, disgusting eyes. They allow me to see shrimp and other small prey in the darkness of the abyssal plain.

[mxskyastra]

The Venus girdle (Cestum veneris) is a comb jelly in the family Cestidae. The colorless species are transparent when suspended in water, except for their iridescent rows of comb plates. In other words, they majestic as fuck. Love to sea it 🌊

[mxskyastra]

Secrets of the Octopus Garden revealed!

Just offshore of Central California, deep below the ocean’s surface, thousands of octopus gather near an extinct underwater volcano. Welcome to the Octopus Garden, the largest known aggregation of octopus anywhere in the world.

In a new study published today in Science Advances, a team of researchers from MBARI, NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of New Hampshire, and the Field Museum confirmed that deep-sea pearl octopus gather at the Octopus Garden to mate and nest. 

Female octopus nest in cracks and crevices bathed by warm water. Using high-tech tools, including many instruments designed by MBARI engineers, the team revealed how warmth from deep-sea thermal springs accelerates the development of octopus eggs. Scientists believe the shorter brooding period increases a hatchling octopus’ odds for survival.

The size of the Octopus Garden—likely more than 20,000 total octopus nests—and the abundance of other marine life that thrives there underscore the need to understand and protect the hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining. Learn more on our website.

[mxskyastra]

Did you guys know that the most recent version of sharks have fins that are kinda leg like and they like to walk up onto land?

[mxskyastra]

I know there's a niche in ecology for organisms that climb on other organisms and eat their parasites. Are there any examples in nature of creatures mimicking other more beneficial organisms?

There's probably more examples than we know of but oddly the only one I've ever heard of are the false cleaner wrasses! Real cleaner wrasses perform a "dance" that "advertises" to fish of countless other species that they'll eat their parasites, so other fish will respond to the dance by hovering in place and spreading their fins to be cleaned up.

The false cleaner wrasse mimics the coloration, shape, and dance of the real thing but then eats chunks of actual fin. It also has a silly face that opens up into demon fangs:

smilin about it!! thinks its funny!!!!

photos from: 1, 2, 3

[mxskyastra]

We are not fish, we are leafs

Yup yup, definitely leafs

[mxskyastra]

Figshb

#shark

Fisb

[mxskyastra]

Batfish? Batfish!

#deep-sea #marinelife #fish #nautilus

Nautilus expedition live streams (+ their commentary) 2020 / 2021 / 2022