Scientists discover two new shark species with chainsaw-like noses
Sawsharks are known for their long, flat snouts studded with teeth, which they use to slash their prey to ribbons. Researchers have found two new species of this shark in the waters off eastern Africa. (Courtesy of Simon Weigmann/)Researchers have identified two new species of shark in the waters off eastern Africa. The rare little creatures range from about three to four-and-a-half feet in length and belong to a group called sixgill sawsharks. Their discovery came as a surprise to scientists, who previously knew of only a single species of sixgill sawshark.“The present study…[reinforces] both how important the western Indian Ocean is in terms of shark and ray biodiversity, but also how much we still have left to find,” Simon Weigmann, a marine biologist at the Elasmobranch Research Laboratory in Hamburg, told Popular Science in an email. He and his colleagues reported their findings on the new sharks on March...