Scientists Baffled By Shark That Defies Rules Of Survival To Walk On Land 

Epaulette sharks, found in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, are able 'walk' on land by shuffling forward with their fins - and are able to survive for up to two hours without oxygen

Ground-breaking new research has found a shark that “breaks all the rules for survival”.

In a statement, Florida Atlantic University said young epaulette sharks are able to walk out of water using their fins - and can also endure around two hours without any oxygen.

This is a product of “challenging environmental conditions”, according to researchers.

Their habitat - Southern Australia’s Great Barrier Reef - can sometimes be completely isolated by the outgoing tide. The sharks therefore use their paddle-shaped fins to “manoeuvre into small reef crevices to avoid aerial and aquatic predators.”

Scientists are now investigating how these walking abilities change in an epaulette shark’s early development.

Other species of walking shark can be found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea

The senior author of the study, Dr Marianne E. Porter, commented: "Studying epaulette shark locomotion allows us to understand this species' - and perhaps related species '- ability to move within and away from challenging conditions in their habitats”.

Dr Porter has now called for further investigation into climate change and how this will alter conditions for epaulette sharks in the future.

The sharks, which grow to be about 3 feet long, may be key for scientists to find out more about fast evolution.

Compared to hammerhead sharks, for example, which evolved over 45 million years ago, according to the National History Museum in London, epaulette sharks likely evolved their ability to walk in only 9 million years.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945.

Image
A U.S. marine gives a cigarette to an injured Japanese soldier, buried in the sand at the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. Equipped with a grenade, the soldier lay in ambush for 36 hours. Marines spotted him concealed in the dark sand and managed to dislodge the grenade out of his reach. Although he surrendered, the cautious Marines suspected potential booby traps and approached carefully. At his request, he was given a cigarette, and thereafter, they cautiously removed him from the shell hole. The 3rd and 4th Marine Divisions broke up the remaining organized resistance on March 16, 1945, the same day this photo was taken. Occasionally individual enemy soldiers armed with demolition charges and grenades raced out against tanks or groups of Marines but were shot down before they could do any great damage to personnel or equipment. Isolated pockets, totaling some 3,000 enemy soldiers, remained around the island. US V Amphibious Corps Command declared Iwo Jima secure at 1800...
Read more

American soldiers execute SS camp guards who have been lined up against a wall during the liberation of Dachau concentration camp.

Image
Following the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp, American troops felt an urge to personally punish the camp's guards. What exactly transpired still isn't known. Dachau concentration camp, located in the state of Bavaria, Germany, was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime. On April 29, 1945, Dachau was liberated by the U.S seventh Army’s 45th Infantry Division. Corpses of prisoners in the Dachau death trains. 1945. But it wasn’t just liberated. Reports indicated that, appalled by what they saw, members of the U.S army were driven to take revenge. They allegedly murdered the SS officers and guards who were responsible for the Holocaust horrors that took place at Dachau. The troops arrived at the Dachau concentration camp in the afternoon. They were on their way to Munich which was just over ten miles from Dachau. Though the troops passed through Dachau, it wasn’t initially a part of the attack zones they were headed for. ...
Read more

This photograph captures one of the last moments of this woman’s life.

Image
Cheng Benhua was a resistance fighter who gave her life defending her home country of China against the Japanese Imperial Army.  She has become a symbol of bravery in the face of death and unspeakable abuse.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused by her Japanese captors.  Despite the awareness that she would soon be killed, she still managed to put on a devious smile that made it seem like she was taunting the soldiers around her. Cheng Benhua's unwavering courage in the face of death has become an iconic representation of fearless resistance. A photograph, taken by a Japanese photographer shortly before she was fatally wounded in 1938, captures her unyielding spirit.  Not long before striking this defiant pose, Cheng Benhua was repeatedly abused and raped by her Japanese captors.  Despite enduring severe mistreatment at the hands of her captors, she appears to smile as she fa...
Read more