Ok, I have to say, I'm getting a little bit annoyed by how many awesome things out there that I hear about and I can't tell you a lot about because there's a pocket shark that is absolutely adorable weird and wonderful and I want to tell you about, but there have only been a few specimens found, so we don't know their range, population, or a lot else.
I'm not going to let that stop me though, because you really need to hear about this shark.
This picture comes from IFL Science, below, but it's pretty much the same as in three other links and it's also basically the only one that I can find of these tiny sharks.
Ok, so, we don't know a lot because only two have ever been found and they were proved to be separate species in their own little family group, but the part that is really, really, really, cool is why they got named 'Pocket' sharks.
It isn't because they're small enough to put in your pockets. They are, with the specimens found being about 5 inches long. So, smaller than an index card, but definitely thicker.
These guys got named Pocket Sharks because right behind their pectoral fins, basically in their armpits, are a pair of glands that scientists think might release bioluminescent fluid that they'd squeeze out to distract predators.
You might be wondering about shark predators, but keep in mind that these guys are bite size to plenty of critters.
As a predator, in the dark ocean about a thousand feet down, having a brightly lit stream of liquid is probably a lot easier to spot and try to follow than a dark little shark darting the other way.
To boil it down a bit, these sharks have pockets!! Isn't that awesome?
Either way, I'll see you again soon, and I hope you got a smile out of this at least. Thanks for you time, have a great day.
Sources:
Tulane University-- New Species of Pocket Shark
No comments:
Post a Comment