@rachel.brooks.art: Introducing Apristurus ovicorrugatus 🦈 She may look like a cartoon villain shark with those eyes, but she's actually brand new species discovered in Australia! Sharks have various methods of reproduction; viviparity, giving birth to live young, ovoviviparity, where young develop in eggs within the womb and oviparity when eggs are laid and develop in the water. 🥚 Around 40% of all sharks are oviparous with the eggs developing in leathery cases also known as mermaids purses. And these mermaids purses are the first clue to the puzzle.🧜🏼‍♀️ In the late 1980s, scientists found a mysterious egg case, it had a unique row of ridges along the top, leaving the question of which shark laid it? Over thirty years later the problem was solved - with a fresh set of eyes. Knowing the egg case samples had come from depths of around 400-500 metres the team started to look through the archives for sharks which had been recovered from similar depths. 🪸 A shark specimen which had been previously misidentified as a South China catshark was, in fact, pregnant, and upon inspection, the same strange eggcases were found inside her! Making this the confirmed discovery of a new shark species, now formally known as, Apristurus ovicorrugatus. Who knows how many more mysteries of the deep there are to uncover? You can read the full research in the cleverly titled paper, what came first, the shark or the egg? 🥚🦈 . . . . . #sharks #shark #sharkart #sharkartist #sharkpainting #savesharks #sharkconservation #catshark #deepsea #australia #rowleyschoals #westernaustralia #penandink #stippling #oceanartist #oceanart #artivism #artforchange #artforconservation #scientificillustration #marinescience #marinebiology #sharkresearch #girlsthatfreedive #girlsthatscuba #sharklover #sharkdrawing #artprocess

Rachel Brooks Art

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Tuesday 25 July 2023 19:19:00 GMT