Possible New Subspecies of Bigeye Sand Tiger Shark

Possible New Subspecies of Bigeye Sand Tiger Shark

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A new record of the rare Bigeye Sand Tiger shark from the northwestern Pacific has been documented by National Taiwan Ocean University’s Shark Lab.

The location of its capture, morphology and DNA indicates that the specimen is a bigeye sand tiger shark (Odontaspis noronhai). However, upon close inspection, the dentition of the specimen is different from all other specimens by having two cusplets on at least one side of cusps on most of the teeth (vs. only one cusplet per side), and lower total tooth count (29/29 vs. 34–38/37–46), therefore it is speculated to be a new subspecies.

Source:
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5094.1.3
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