Scientists have discovered a new species of hammerhead shark that’s been hiding in plain sight among the bonnetheads. These sharks were already notable for their shovel-like shape, but this new-to-science species really hits the nail on the head for being just so exceptionally shaped like a shovel.
Bonnethead sharks are found in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and were previously believed to represent one species, Sphyrna tiburo. They have unusual lifestyles as well as appearances, being one of just a few omnivorous sharks due to their penchant for seagrass. They’re also the smallest of the hammerheads, sharing the characteristic lateral expansion of the head in a structure that’s known to science folk as the cephalofoil.
The nickname “shovelheads” comes from the specific shape of bonnetheads’ cephalofoils, but among them has been lurking another shovel-shaped shark species. It was discovered when scientists took a close look at 23 apparent bonnethead sharks and realized there were actually some significant differences between certain sharks, even when on the surface they looked near-identical.
It came down to differences in their vertebrae and genetic markers, which were enough to establish a new-to-science species: Sphyrna alleni. The discovery cleaves this shark population of the Western Atlantic in two, giving rise to two distinct species from a group of sharks that was thought to be just one.
Discovering new species like this is something we see across the animal kingdom as the more we learn about the peculiar creatures we share the planet with, the easier it gets to start to tell them apart (just look at the Jabba The Hutt wasp and company).
The “alleni” in its full species name is in honor of the co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, whose family foundation has funded numerous shark and ray projects.
And what do you call such a shovelly shark when you haven’t the time to say the whole thing? The authors found a solution that’s a fitting hat-tip to the region where it was found.
“Here, we present multiple lines of evidence confirming that S. tiburo and S. alleni […] are distinct species,” write the study authors. “We propose the new species: Sphyrna alleni […], with the common name ‘Shovelbill’, to acknowledge the name it is referred to by the people of Belize where the holotype was collected.”
So welcome to the party, shovelbill. Your face is an absolute picture.
The study is published in the journal Zootaxa.
