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Pocket Shark: new species found in the Gulf of Mexico

The Mollisquama mississippiensis was first reported by scientists 9 years ago, but it was until this year that a second sighting took place

This news species was first reported in 2010 – Photo: AP

English| 23-07-19 |13:32|Newsroom | Actualizada |23-07-19 |13:32|

Redacción El Universal

This small shark, of barely 14 centimeters in length and that can glow in the dark to attract its prey, was found in the Gulf of Mexico .

Biologist Mark Grace from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) , classified this species as Mollisquama mississippiensis . In 2010 , scientists found a male shark while they studied sperm whales in the Gulf, but nine years had to pass by before another sighting was reported.

“The fact that only one pocket shark in the Gulf of Mexico was reported, which is a news species, highlights how little we know about the Gulf, especially of its deepest waters , and how many additional species in this waters await to be discovered,” said scientist Henry Bart, director of the Tulane University Biodiversity Research Institute .

According to Grace’s research, this shark secretes a brilliant fluid thanks to a gland in its front flippers . Scientists consider that this characteristic of luminescence is used by the Mollisquama to attract its prey.