What's a shark ordinarily associated with the Arctic doing around a Caribbean coral reef?

Unexpected catch marks first time sleeper shark found in Western Caribbean

MIAMI, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A half-blind shark that is typically thought to live in freezing Arctic waters, scavenge on polar bear carcasses and survive for hundreds of years, recently turned up in an unexpected place — a coral reef off Belize. This marks the first time a shark of its kind has been found in western Caribbean waters off the world's second longest barrier reef.
 
Devanshi Kasana, a Ph.D. candidate in FlU's Predator Ecology & Conservation lab, was working with local Belizean fishermen to tag tiger sharks when the discovery was made.
 
"At first, I was sure it was something else, like a six gill shark that are well known from deep waters off coral reefs," Kasana said. "I knew it was something unusual and so did the fishers, who hadn't ever seen anything quite like it in all their combined years of fishing."
 
Kasana texted Demian Chapman — her Ph.D. advisor and Director of Sharks & Rays Conservation Research at Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium — to share the news. She also sent along a photo. Chapman's response caught her off guard. He said it looked a lot like a Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus).

After conferring with several Greenland shark experts, the final determination was that it was definitely in the sleeper shark family — and because of its large size, it was most likely a Greenland shark or a hybrid between the Greenland shark and Pacific sleeper shark (Somniosus pacificus). The findings were recently published in the journal Marine Biology.
 
Greenland sharks remain somewhat of an enigma to science. What is known about them is they tend to prefer the frigid waters of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans. They have been estimated to live upward of 400 years — earning them the special designation of longest-living vertebrate known to science.

While Kasana and the team weren't expecting to ever see a Greenland shark, finding one shows how partnerships can oftentimes pave the way for unexpected and intriguing new discoveries. 

"Great discoveries and conservation can happen when fishermen, scientists and the government work together," said Beverly Wade, Director of the Blue Bond and Finance Permanence Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister of Belize. "We can really enhance what we can do individually, while also doing some great conservation work and making fantastic discoveries, like this one."

To read the full release click here: https://news.fiu.edu/2022/greenland-shark

Angela Nicoletti
305-348-4493
[email protected]

SOURCE Florida International University