Experts are puzzled how the
shark, normally found near equator, could have reached UK
Steven Morris
Thursday 2 March 2017 17.10 GMT
Last modified on Thursday 2 March 2017 22.01 GMT
A crocodile shark, a marine
creature normally found in deep tropical waters, has been discovered washed up
on a beach in Devon.
A family found the shark at Hope
Cove beach on the south coast and, thinking it was still alive, braved its
sharp teeth to try to return it to the water before realising it was dead.
Experts are puzzled how a shark
normally found in and around the equator could have reached the British coast.
One theory is that it followed a warm, deep water current before reaching cold
water in which it could not survive. Another possibility is that it was caught
in fishing nets further south and discarded near the British shore.
Steven Greenfields said he was
walking with his family at Hope Cove when he spotted the dead fish.
“We regularly visit this beach
and have never seen anything like this before,” he said. “My whole family was
stunned as the animal had really unusual features but was unmistakably a shark.
“I have experience with sharks
whilst swimming and diving overseas, but, despite a fair amount of fishing and
swimming in the UK all my life, have never seen any shark in UK waters other
than dogfish.”
Photographs of the find were sent
to the National Marine Aquarium
in Plymouth. The curator James Wright said: “On first inspection of the
photos we thought the animal could be a juvenile porbeagle shark, which is
found in UK waters. However, we identified numerous traits that suggested it
was not any shark usually recorded in UK waters.
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