The Epaulette shark was discovered off the coast of Australia, capable of “walking” along the seabed with the help of its fins. About this report Open Biology.
A study published in the journal Nature found that they can reproduce without significantly increasing their energy expenditure. Normally, the reproductive process requires a lot of energy, but in epaulette sharks, energy consumption remains the same.
This discovery suggests that epaulette shark populations are more resilient to environmental threats than previously thought.
“This work challenges the notion that reproductive performance is affected first by environmental pressures such as warming oceans,” said marine biologist Jody Rummer.
The study's lead author, Dr. Carolyn Wheeler, noted that this shark can continue to lay eggs even in unfavorable conditions. “This is encouraging because healthy sharks keep coral reefs healthy,” he said.
It was previously reported that ichthyologists had announced the discovery of evidence for the existence of yelloweye sharks, a species previously known from a single known specimen caught off the coast of Papua New Guinea in 1970.
