Not a Halloween Hoax: Rare Albino Cyclops Shark Discovered by Fisherman in Mexico, Fascinates Biologists (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on October 19, 2011
Rare albino cyclops shark - click image to enlarge
Just in time for Halloween: It may look like a deformed cartoon character or a special-effects horror film monster, but science experts say that the albino fetal shark with one eye in the middle of its nose is indeed authentic and not a hoax.
From what has been determined by biologists, this “cyclops shark,” found as a fetus in a captured pregnant dusky shark by a fisherman in the Gulf of California near Mexico this past summer, is afflicted with a rare disorder called “cyclopia.” The animal likely would not have survived after being born.
From Fox News, Albino Cyclops Shark Is Real, Experts Say:
In this world of Photoshop and online scams, it pays to have a hearty dose of skepticism at reports of something strange — including an albino fetal shark with one eye smack in the middle of its nose like a Cyclops.
But the Cyclops shark, sliced from the belly of a pregnant mama dusky shark caught by a commercial fisherman in the Gulf of California earlier this summer, is by all reports the real thing. Shark researchers have examined the preserved creature and found that its single eye is made of functional optical tissue, they said last week. It’s unlikely, however, that the malformed creature would have survived outside the womb.
“This is extremely rare,” shark expert Felipe Galvan Magana of Mexico’s Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias del Mar told the Pisces Fleet Sportfishing blog in July. “As far as I know, less than 50 examples of an abnormality like this have been recorded.” [See photos of the one-eyed "Cyclops" shark]
Pisces Fleet, a sportfishing company, rocketed the Cyclops shark to viral status online this summer with their photos of the creepy-cute creature. But this isn’t the first time that reports of a mythical-seeming creature have spurred media sensations — last week alone, Russian officials announced “proof” of a Yeti, and paleontologists spun a theory about an ancient Kraken-like squid. Few reports of mythical beasts, however, come with proof.
The HS News, Cyclops Shark (in Spanish)
From Christian Post, Rare Cyclops Shark Discovered by Fisherman:
An extraordinary cyclops shark has been found in Mexico with one eye right in the center of its face. Found earlier this summer, the under-the sea miracle was discovered by a fisherman in the Gulf of California.
Fisherman Enrique Lucero Leon discovered the highly uncommon embryo inside a pregnant dusky shark he legally caught. The Cyclops shark was determined to have a developmental abnormality known as “cyclopia,” in which only one eye develops. Through the examination of shark researchers, it is confirmed that the preserved creature’s eye is comprised of optical tissue.
However, underwater experts say it’s unlikely that the rare creature would have survived outside the womb.
“This is extremely rare,” shark expert Felipe Galvan Magana of Mexico’s Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias del Mar told the Pisces Fleet Sportfishing blog in July. “As far as I know, less than 50 examples of an abnormality like this have been recorded.”
While atypical, the shark is a real development. According to a 1982 Israeli case reported in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, human fetuses are sometimes affected. In that case, a baby girl was born prematurely with no nose and only one eye in the center of her face.
From The Epoch Times, Albino Cyclops Shark Is Real, Scientists Say:
“This is extremely rare, as far as I know less than 50 examples of an abnormality like this have been recorded,” said Magaña, according to Pisces Fleet’s blog. “The water in the Sea of Cortez is one of the cleanest in the world, so it is not likely that this is a factor.”
The fetus has been preserved, and was recently x-rayed by Magaña and colleague Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez, who authenticated it, and will soon publish a paper about the unusual find, according to a spokesman for Pisces Fleet.
In the January 2011 edition of the journal Marine Biodiversity Records, Magaña and colleagues reported discoveries of two-headed shark embryos in female blue sharks, Prionace glauca. They believe the original embryos began to divide into twins, but may have failed to separate due to overcrowding in the womb.
Shark biologist Jim Gelsleichter at the University of North Florida told National Geographic that embryonic cyclops sharks have been documented by scientists a few times in the past. As none have been observed in the wild, this suggests that they are not viable.
“It’s a humbling experience to realize you ain’t seen it all yet,” Gelsleichter said.
Cyclopia has also been reported in other species, for example a kitten born in America in 2006 had only one eye, and also had no nose, a rare disorder known as holoprosenchephaly. It died within a day of being born.
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