Two new shark species discovered
Posted February 29, 2008 in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Researchers in Australia recently announced the discovery of two new species of wobbegong (or carpet) sharks, which they have named the "floral banded wobbegong" and "dwarf spotted wobbegong." As the name suggests, the dwarf spotted wobbegong is a smaller cousin of the spotted wobbegong, pictured below.
Wobbegong sharks aren't the scary "jaws" sharks we're used to seeing; in fact, we eat them. The wobbegong's flesh, which is sold as "flake," is often used for Australian fish and chips. I'm always amazed that we continue to find new species in the world, which we humans think we know so much about. Unfortunately, wobbegongs, like all shark species, are in trouble. The wobbegong fishery has seen a decline in landings by as much as 60% and the International Union For the Conservation of Nature's Red List now classifies both banded and spotted wobbegongs as "near threatened" species.
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John Platt — Mar 3 2008 10:43 AM
I could probably start a whole new blog just listing all of the new species found every month. Too bad we're "discovering" most of them when they're already endangered!