Research Registers Cow Sharks for the First Time in the Deep Galapagos
Through a scientific research project, which uses high-tech equipment to discover the depths of the Galapagos, the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park and other organizations observed, for the first time in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, a shark of seven gills (Notorynchus cepedianus) and a six gill shark (Hexanchus griseus), in the waters of the Floreana and Española islands, respectively.
These species, known as cow sharks, are considered among the most primitive groups of sharks, because their skeleton retains characteristics that have already disappeared in other adaptations of these species, such as the number of gills that in most sharks is up to five.
The identification of the two registered species was confirmed with the ichthyologist David Ebert, from the Pacific Sharks Research Center the Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, who defines this finding as “exciting”, considering that the six gill sharks are species that are mainly found in deep waters and they are one of the largest and most abundant sharks in these areas.
“These findings contribute to a better understanding of the territorial range of both species, information that is vital to propose the management of their conservation in marine protected areas,” said the leading scientist of the Underwater Montes project, Salomé Bunglas.
Source: Galapagos National Park
