A tiny shark discovered in the Gulf of Mexico with mysterious pouches near its front fins has turned out to be a new species, scientists say.
The fittingly named American pocket shark, or Mollisquama mississippiensis, uses the pouches to squirt little glowing clouds into the ocean. It’s only the third shark species out of more than 500 that may squirt luminous liquid, according to R. Dean Grubbs, a Florida State University scientist who was not involved in the research. The other two are the previously known pocket shark and the taillight shark, which has a similar gland near its tail.
“You have this tiny little bulbous luminescent shark cruising around in the world’s oceans and we know nothing about them,” Grubbs told The Associated Press. “It shows us how little we actually know.”
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The new shark was discovered by Mark Grace, an ichthyologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He collected a baby of the species during a 2010 survey to find out what Gulf of Mexico sperm whales eat by trawling in an area and at a depth where tagged whales had been feeding…….more here