Shark feeding habits are helping scientists identify marks on human bones found in the ocean. By analyzing shark scavenging behavior, the University of Florida’s C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory identified which marks were left behind by sharks, what species of sharks made the marks and where the feedings might have occurred. Most research focuses on […]
New England cold snap leaves sharks in shock
Three thresher sharks were found dead Massachusetts’s Cape Cod Bay this week as temperatures plunged following a cold front this week that caused sub-freezing temperatures across most of the country. Experts believed that the sharks died due to cold shock. Temperatures in the area were as low as five degrees. The three thresher sharks were all […]
Researchers pull in 500-year old Greenland shark
Scientists collecting specimens during a research expedition in the North Atlantic Ocean caught what is estimated to be a 500-year-old Greenland shark, believed to be the oldest living vertebrate ever discovered. Based on its overall length of 18 feet, experts used its annual rate of growth of 1 cm per year along with radiocarbon dating […]
Study finds fear of sharks reduced through understanding
An experiment involving more than 500 visitors to an aquarium ‘shark tunnel’ has shown the public’s fear of sharks reduces when they learn about the species by watching their behaviour. University of Sydney researchers conducted a randomised experiment in Shark Valley at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium in November 2013, by setting up iPads running survey […]
New study reveals secret life of whale sharks
QUEENS LAND, AUSTRALIA (PRpoint Release) — Whale shark researchers have marked International Whale Shark Day by solving a long-standing mystery about where the world’s largest fish go during the Australian spring and summer. In a world-first, researchers from The University of Queensland and the non-profit ECOCEAN have tracked and recorded a full return migration of whale sharks […]
Hundreds of leopard sharks wash up in San Francisco
Hundreds of dead leopard sharks, as well as a few other species, have washed ashore between Redwood City and San Francisco in the past month. Biologists suspect that the sharks are being exposed to high levels of toxins when they enter shallow water and lagoons to birth their pups. The loss marks the worst die-off in […]
Arctic expedition set to study mysterious Greenland shark
(Press Release) An international team of scientists, including a physiologist from The University of Manchester, will head to the largest island in the world later this month to investigate the Greenland shark – believed to be the longest-lived vertebrate animal. Dr Holly Shiels, who is also a trustee of the Physiological Society, will be the […]
Hammerhead shark migration gives new hope for conservation
A target of both the recreational fishing and shark-fin trade, the global population of the instantly recognizable Great Hammerhead shark is estimated to have declined by ~80% over the last 25 years. The Great Hammerhead has been listed on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) as endangered since 2007. It has also […]
Shark population survey, Global FinPrint, reaches record goal
Researchers attempting the world’s largest survey of shark populations just reached their goal of 216 reefs — a year and a half ahead of schedule. But they have no plans of stopping. Launched during Shark Week in 2015, Global FinPrint is a three-year project led by FIU marine biologist Demian Chapman to search for the […]
New species of hammerhead shark discovered in Belize
After examining the DNA from a sample of what was thought to be a common bonnethead shark that was caught off the coast of Belize, researchers believe they have discovered a whole new species. Boneheads are the smallest members of the hammerhead family, reaching a maximum length of three feet, and are identified by the […]
