#elasmo_branchii

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Featured Species Friday: Crocodile shark (Pseudocarcharias kamoharia)

This week’s Featured Species is a deep sea shark that we still don’t know much about. The crocodile shark (Pseudocarcharias kamoharia) is a member of the order Lamniformes and is the only member of its family Pseudocarchariidae (Skomal, 2016; Parker, 2008). It is the smallest of the Lamniformes sharks, measuring only 3.6 feet (1.09 m) when fully grown. They are a cigar-shaped shark with a…

[oceanforsharks]

FINtastic Shark Swag For Shark Fest and Shark Week 2019

FINtastic Shark Swag For Shark Fest and Shark Week 2019

In celebration of Nat Geo’s THREE week long Shark Fest and Discovery’s Shark Week, it’s time for another addition of Shark Swag that Supports Shark Conservation and Research! It’s the best kind of shark swag and let’s face it, we can never get enough!

Ocean for Sharks Shop

  Be sure to stop by the new Ocean For Sharks Shop! There’s handmade ocean inspired plush animals, canvas paintings, of…

[nitedreamerdesigns]

A Shark with an Omnivorous Diet? New Study Reveals First Known Omnivorous Shark Species

A Shark with an Omnivorous Diet? New Study Reveals First Known Omnivorous Shark Species

A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences has revealed the first known shark species to be omnivorous. Bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo) is the smallest member of the hammerheads, weighing only 13 lbs (5.8 kg) and growing to approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) when adults (Skomal, 2016). And these little sharks are making history!

O’Neil, M.P. (Photographer).…

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species: Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)

Featured Species: Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio)

This week’s featured species is one of the most beautiful species of rays I have ever seen and is probably the species I want to personally see the most on a dive. It’s the Ornate Eagle Ray (Aetomylaeus vespertilio), a member of the Myliobatidae family, which if you recall also contains the Bat Eagle Ray (Myliobatis californica) and the Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari). The ornate eagle ray…

[oceanforsharks]

Protections for the Critically Endangered Largetooth Sawfish Increased in the Caribbean

Protections for the Critically Endangered Largetooth Sawfish Increased in the Caribbean

Earlier this week, on June 5th World Environment Day, 17 Caribbean countries unanimously agreed to extend further protections to the critically endangered Largetooth Sawfish (Pristis pristis).  The largetooth sawfish is a member of the family Pristidae. Though sawfish may look like sharks with their wide, broad pectoral fins and high dorsal fin, they are actually a species of ray. The largetooth…

[oceanforsharks]

New Study Reveals New Life History Characteristics of the Australian Blackspot Shark (Carcharhinus coatesi)

New Study Reveals New Life History Characteristics of the Australian Blackspot Shark (Carcharhinus coatesi)

A study published this earlier this month in the journal of Pacific Conservation Biology has shed some light  on the life history characteristics of the Australian Blackspot Shark (Carcharhinus coatesi) of Papua New Guinea and demonstrates the importance of studying data deficient populations. The Australian blackspot shark, also known as the Coates’s shark, is a small and slender shark has only…

[oceanforsharks]

New Study Reveals Juvenile Tiger Sharks Feed on Songbirds

New Study Reveals Juvenile Tiger Sharks Feed on Songbirds

A new study published this week in the journal of Ecology has found that juvenile tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier)have an unexpected food item on the menu: songbirds. The study began in 2010 when lead researcher and fisheries researcher at Mississippi State University, Marcus Drymon, caught a juvenile tiger shark as part of an ongoing study in the Gulf of Mexico. When the shark was brought on the…

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species: Sicklefin Weasel Shark (Hemigaleus microstoma)

Featured Species: Sicklefin Weasel Shark (Hemigaleus microstoma)

This week’s featured species is a shark that is Vulnerable to extinction from the Indian Ocean. The Sicklefin Weasel Shark (Hemigaleus microstoma) is one of eight species in the family Hemigaleidae and they are found primarily in the Indian Ocean from India to the Philippines and China, though they can be found in the Red Sea as well (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015; Skomal, 2016). The sicklefin…

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species: Pelagic Thresher Shark (Alopias pelagicus)

Featured Species: Pelagic Thresher Shark (Alopias pelagicus)

This week’s featured species needs no introduction: the Pelagic Thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) has a narrow snout, large eyes, and long, straight pectoral fins with broad tips (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). But what the thresher sharks are known for is their strikingly long tails. The upper lobe of their tails can be as long as the length of their entire body (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015).…

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Featured Species: Broadfin Shark (Lamiopsis temminckii)

Featured Species: Broadfin Shark (Lamiopsis temminckii)

This week’s featured species was once rather common in the Indian and West Pacific Oceans, but is now considered an Endangered species. The Broadfin Shark (Lamiopsis temminckii) is a medium sized shark in the Carcharhinidae family (Skomal, 2016). The broadfin shark is a relatively stout shark with a moderately long snout, wide mouth, and small eyes (Ebert, Fowler, & Dando, 2015). The broadfin…

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species: Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum)

Featured Species: Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum)

This week’s featured species is one of my husband’s favorite shark species, and therefore one that is very special to me, too! (It’s not often my husband admits he likes sharks; he thinks the ocean is boring- GASP! So when he said this was one of his favorite species I almost cried!) The Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) is a small member of the Hemiscylliidae family (Ebert,…

[oceanforsharks]

Featured Species: Lost Shark (Carcharhinus obsolerus)

Featured Species: Lost Shark (Carcharhinus obsolerus)

This week’s featured species is the first new elasmobranch to be described for science in 2019: Lost Shark (Carcharhinus obsolerus). This species was described in a newly published paper based on three specimens collected in 1934 from Borneo, Thailand, and Vietnam in the Western-Central Pacific Ocean (White, Kyne, & Harris, 2019).

Fig 1.Lateral view of Carcharhinus obsolerus sp. nov. (NMW 61463;…

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Featured Species: Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus)

Featured Species: Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus)

Happy New Year everyone! I decided to start off 2019 with one of my favorite flat sharks: the Southern Stingray (Hypanus americanus,formerly Dasyatis americana) (Klimley, 2013). The southern stingray is a fairly common ray throughout the temperate and tropical waters of the Western Atlantic, ranging from New Jersey all the way to Brazil (Tricas et al., 1997).  They are known for their wide…

[oceanforsharks]

Evidence of Embryonic Locomotion in Tawny Nurse Sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus)

Evidence of Embryonic Locomotion in Tawny Nurse Sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus)

When we think of an embryo developing inside a mother’s womb, we don’t generally think of the embryo being about to travel around as it so pleases, and even snack on some of mom’s unfertilized eggs. (Sorry for any potential nightmares moms!) But that is exactly what a team of scientists studying pregnant tawny nurse sharks (Nebrius ferrugineus) have observed over the last few years. A study…

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Featured Species: Pyjama Shark (Poroderma africanum)

Featured Species: Pyjama Shark (Poroderma africanum)

This week’s featured species looks like it is always ready for bed! The Pyjama Shark (Poroderm africanum), also known as the striped catshark, is a strikingly beautiful small species found off the coasts of South Africa. The pyjama shark is easily recognizable by its solid striped pattern that runs from the tip of its snout down to the caudal fin (Tricas et al, 1997). Just like they are wearing…

[oceanforsharks]

The Start of Something New: Conservation Collaboration

I have some exciting news! I am joining the team at Reef Pup, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to further coral reef protection through conservation, restoration, and education. I will be writing a weekly blog feature that will be posted each Monday on their website and their social media outlets on Facebook and Instagram! I will also be consulting on up coming conservation projects –…