News

Because it makes them better hunters, scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) have evolved a unique method to avoid losing body heat when they dive for prey in deep, cold waters: they close their gills.

The glowing white eyes of a new species of demon catshark that has been discovered in northern Western Australia could lead to a better understanding of the evolution of sharks, a scientist says.

In this new Nature paper, Watanabe’s team demonstrates that teleost fish have a higher metabolic rate in cold temperatures than sharks. And with this finding comes an intriguing question: could this be the reason we don't see many cold-water elasmobranchs?

Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) live a very long life... but that doesn’t mean it’s a comfortable one.

A new study, led by Jessica Pate from the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF), has shown that 12ft wide sicklefin devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) are present off the US Atlantic coast. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN, this is the first time these huge, elusive rays have been documented in the eastern US.

Scientists at Max Delbrück Center in Berlin, the Andalusian Center for Developmental Biology (CABD) in Seville and other labs in the United States have discovered how the skate evolved these cape-like fins by peering into their DNA.

Researchers can now scan a sample of water, air, or soil for tiny remnants of DNA to identify organisms using eDNA analysis, an emerging molecular technique that is taking the wildlife science industry by storm.

The Smalltooth Sand Tiger (Odontaspis ferox) is rarely seen by humans as it normally lives offshore in waters more than 100m deep.

While their eyes should strain to deal with the contrast of light in their vertical range, scientists have recently discovered the genetic secret that prevents this from happening. An unusual genetic mutation in these gentle giants makes a pigment in their retina more sensitive to temperature changes.