MEXICO: A rare one-eyed albino Cyclops shark baffles local fishermen and scientists in Mexico

Record ID: 304494

  • Title: MEXICO: A rare one-eyed albino Cyclops shark baffles local fishermen and scientists in Mexico
  • Date: 5th November 2011
  • Summary: LA PAZ, SOUTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO (RECENT) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) MARINE SCIENTIST MARCELA BEJARANO WALKING ON BEACH HOLDING ONE-EYED ALBINO SHARK FISHERMAN WHO DISCOVERED SHARK, ENRIQUE LEON LUCERO, HANDLING ANCHOR VARIOUS OF BEJARANO SHOWING OFF SHARK (SOUNDBITE) MARINE SCIENTIST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHING AND MARINE BIOLOGY (CICIMAR), MARCELA BEJARANO SAYING: "It's a Cyclops shark, it's an exceptional case, because there have never been international reports, scientific reports, nothing of that sort about a shark that has these features." MORE OF ONE-EYED ALBINO SHARK (SOUNDBITE) MARINE SCIENTIST FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FISHING AND MARINE BIOLOGY (CICIMAR), MARCELA BEJARANO SAYING: "This is not the only characteristic it has, it's also an albino shark, it is completely white and has not developed nostrils. SHARK'S TALE LUCERO HOLDING SHARK (SOUNDBITE) FISHERMAN WHO DISCOVERED SHARK, ENRIQUE LEON LUCERO SAYING: "In the trap was a big shark and inside were her young. By the time we reached the shore, we had cut her up and found that (inside) was a shark with one eye, we had never seen anything like that. There were nine young but this one had no more than one eye." VARIOUS OF LUCERO ATTENDING TO BOAT VARIOUS OF LUCERO PUTTING SHARK IN TANK SUNSET OVER LA PAZ COAST
  • Embargoed: 20th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico, Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Environment,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA2AIB6QQSTZNMH1BB4C5V2HRJY
  • Story Text: Scientists at the Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine Sciences (CICIMAR) in Mexico's picturesque La Paz are perplexed by the discovery of an extremely rare Cyclops baby shark foetus earlier this year.
    Pale white in colour and with one eye in the middle of its nose, the creature was discovered by a local fisherman and is believed to be the only one of its kind ever verified as real by scientists.
    "It's a Cyclops shark, it's an exceptional case, because there have never been international reports, scientific reports, nothing of that sort about a shark that has these features," said marine scientist at CICIMAR Marcela Bejarano.
    Apart from its distinguishing one-eye, the shark pup is a rare albino and has no spinal chord or sense of smell.
    "This is not the only characteristic it has, it's also an albino shark, it is completely white and has not developed nostrils", added Bejarano.
    On February 16, the male embryo was cut from its pregnant mother by local fisherman Enrique Leon Lucero after she had become trapped in a net. Pulling out a total of nine baby sharks inside, Lucero told Reuters he was taken aback by the discovery of the cyclops.
    "In the trap was a big shark and inside were her young. By the time we reached the shore, we had cut her up and found that (inside) was a shark with one eye, we had never seen anything like that. There were nine young but this one had no more than one eye."
    Measuring 22 centimetres (56 inches), scientists attribute the single eye to a rare combination of birth defects with the eye caused by the malformation of the embryonic brain called cyclopida, which also occurs in other animals, including humans.
    With the shark pup retrieved in the clear waters of the Sea of Cortez, local scientists have ruled out pollution playing a part in the deformities.
    Unlikely to have survived outside the womb, the one-eyed albino shark foetus is now the prized possession of the fisherman who found it.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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