“Rapier Wielding” Shark Among New Species Found in 2011
Imaged Above: The African dwarf sawshark, one of four new sharks discovered in 2011. Image courtesy D. A. Ebert and G.M. Cailliet, California Academy of Sciences
Four new sharks—including a “rapier wielding” sawshark—are among 140 new species discovered by California Academy of Sciences researchers in 2011, the institution announced in December.
The African dwarf sawshark (Pristiophorus nancyae) was accidentally captured in a 1,600-foot-deep (490-meter-deep) trawl off Mozambique. The animal is only the seventh species of sawshark known to science, according to David Ebert, a research associate at the Academy.
The predator has a long, tooth-studded snout that it uses like a sword, whipping the appendage through schools of fish and then returning to eat any casualties.
