Two New Wonderfully Weird Species Of Six-Gilled Sawshark Have Been Discovered
Two New Wonderfully Weird Species Of Six-Gilled Sawshark Have Been Discovered
Tom Hale
By Tom Hale
19 MAR 2020, 17:31
They might not be the most handsome bunch in the seas, but this line up of chainsaw-faced critters includes two brand new species of super-rare sawshark.
The newly discovered Pliotrema kajae and Pliotrema annae, nicknamed by the researchers as Kaja's and Anna's six-gill sawsharks, were discovered by looking at specimens found in local fisheries on the coasts of Madagascar and Zanzibar.
Off the back of specimens and evidence gathered from East Africa, the team then compared the sawsharks to specimens found in a number of museums across the world. Using anatomical measurements, high-resolution photographs, and scanning electron microscope imagery, the team was able to confirm there was clear evidence of two species that had never been scientifically documented before.
"The six-gill sawsharks are really quite extraordinary as most sawsharks have five-gill slits per side,” lead author Dr Simon Weigmann from the Elasmobranch Research Laboratory in Hamburg, said in a statement.
More:
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/two-new-wonderfully-weird-species-of-sixgilled-sawshark-have-been-discovered/
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