Mollisquama mississippiensis

Mollisquama mississippiensis or the American pocket shark[1] is a species of pocket shark native to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second species of pocket shark to be described.

American pocket shark
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Dalatiidae
Genus: Mollisquama
Species:
M. mississippiensis
Binomial name
Mollisquama mississippiensis
Grace, Doosey, Denton, Naylor, Bart & Maisey, 2019

Discovery

The shark was first discovered by scientists from Tulane University that were conducting a study on sperm whales in 2010. In 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identified it as a pocket shark,[2] the first to be found in its region. A previously found specimen of a different pocket shark species was caught off the coast of Chile[3] in 1979 and was used to identify the two different species due to their differences in size, vertebrae and numerous light-producing photophores.

Description

The head is bulbous, resembling that of a whale.[4] The shark is very small, at only 5.5 inches (140 mm). Near the gills are two "pockets" that secrete a luminous fluid which may enable the shark to hunt.[5] The body is grey with the fins being darker. The areas around the gills are cream colored.[6] There are clusters of photophores around the body, which are able to produce light.

References
  1. Weisberger, Mindy; July 22, Senior Writer |; ET, 2019 06:48am. "Adorable Shark Fits in Your Hand, Looks Like a Mini Sperm Whale". Live Science. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  2. Scribner, Herb (23 July 2019). "This glow-in-the-dark shark was recently discovered. Here's what we know". DeseretNews.com. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  3. Fiallo, Josh. "Scientists discover new species of shark that glows in the dark to lure in food". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  4. Katz, Brigit. "This New Shark Species Looks Like a Tiny Sperm Whale". Smithsonian. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. "New species of glow-in-the-dark shark found in Gulf of Mexico". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  6. Maisey, John G.; Bart, HENRY L. Jr; Naylor, Gavin J. P.; Denton, John S. S.; Doosey, Michael H.; Grace, Mark A. (18 June 2019). "A new Western North Atlantic Ocean kitefin shark (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae) from the Gulf of Mexico". Zootaxa. 4619 (1): 109–120. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4619.1.4. ISSN 1175-5334. PMID 31716316.
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