Last week, we posted this image of a shark and asked you to decide whether it was real or not:
Roughly 2/3 of the more than 8600 people who voted thought the image was real. If you voted that way, you're right: the image is 100% real. Many of you knew that this was an image of an Oophagous Shortfin Mako shark. If you knew it, congraatulations!
Both the Shortfin Mako and the Porbeagle have evolved a type of intra-uterine cannibalism known as oophagy (i.e., egg eating). According to Wikipedia, oophagy is "the practice of embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother's uterus." In other words, as baby sharks grow inside their mother, they eat successive batches of unfertilised eggs. Consequently, this image is of a baby shark -- probably hauled up in a fishing net -- bloated from having eaten so many of his brothers and sisters. The Australian Museum Online has a few other photos of Oophagous sharks, all of which are just as unusual.
Last week, we asked you to take a look at this frightening picture...
...and decide if it was real or not.
In reality, the image isn't all that frightening. Nevertheless, just over half of all respondents decided that the shark was, in fact, a real shark. If you voted that it was real, you're right. This image of a pygmy shark is 100% real. Hawaii-based photographer David Kearnes supplied the image of this adult female, 9.4 inches in length, from Hawaii. He also sent us several other intriguing images of the pygmy shark.
Last week, we asked you to decide whether this image of a creepy shark was real or not.
More than half of the 2300+ voters cried foul, declaring that the image was not real. However, if you voted with the majority, you were wrong, this image of a Frilled Shark is 100% real. This particular Frilled Shark was collected at a depth of 1200 feet off Eden, New South Wales in November 1998. Unknown before the 19th Century, the first Frilled Shark was caught by Japanese fishermen.
Frilled Sharks are long, slender sharks that reach about 6 feet in length and eat anything that can be swallowed whole. Superficially, the Frilled Shark resembles a dark brown or gray eel, but its six gill slits identify it as a shark. It may be found worldwide, usually found at depths of 300 - 4500 feet. If you want to see some more pictures of these strange creatures, check out SeaPics or Marine Themes.
UPDATE: You can see a short video of a frilled shark here.
This week's Real or Not? was super-popular. With more than 3700 votes cast, 58% of respondents claim the photos of the so-called Unicorn Shark were not real.
If you said that there's no such thing as a Unicorn Shark, you're right! The creature is not real...but those pictures sure are cool, huh?
As it turns out, I was contacted by a man named Dethcheez ( the "Creator of things that should not be"), who handcrafts "gaffs" -- fake gimmicks meant to look real -- for a living. Claiming he'd had a juvenile shark for a while, he explained that he made a small incision inside its mouth and inserted a coyote's tooth through the hole, to make it look like a Unicorn Shark. I was so impressed with the quality of his work, I decided to run it as a Real or Not?
Anyway, thanks to Dethcheez and his handiwork, and thanks to all of you who voted. I wonder if I'll ever find a Real or Not? as disturbing as this one.
This week's Real or Not? is a little different than most. Rather than hunt for an appropriate photo on my own, a Divester reader recently sent me several unusual photos that he had taken. Claiming he had hauled this fish up in his net, he "Didn't notice it till we got back & was emptying the net, it was dead by then. I've been fishing a long time and occasionally we snag a baby shark, but I've never seen anything like it. Any Ideas???"
Check out the rest of the pictures of the "Unicorn shark," and tell us what you think. Is it Real or Not?
Last week, we posted this frightening image of a shark and asked you to decide if it was real or not.
The voting was almost evenly split, with just a few more of you deciding it was NOT real. In fact, this photo of a goblin shark is 100% real. I found the image on Green Goblin.
Dubbed a tenguzame -- Goblin shark -- by the Japanese fishermen who originally found them, these rare sharks are found off Japan, South Africa, and -- perhaps -- Portugal. However, so little is known about them, it's possible that they also exist elsewhere.
Averaging about 10 feet -- but known to reach lengths of 14 feet -- one of the distinctive features of the Goblin Shark is its shovel-like forehead. In fact, this unusual formation is part of its protrusible mouth. The mouth can retract to a position under the eye (as shown above), or it can extend forward under the snout. Researchers believe that, when feeding, the Goblin Shark probably remains nearly motionless in the water, ambushing its prey from close range. Bizarrely, the Goblin shark's skin is not gray, like most sharks, but a "bubblegum pink."
Last week, we posted this image of a shark and asked you to choose whether the image was real or not.
Overwhelmingly, the group decided the image was not real. If you voted this way, then...you're wrong: the image is real! Known as a cookie cutter shark, I found this image on the Australian Museum online. The caption reads: "Head of a 363 mm [ 14.2 inch] long Large-tooth Cookie-cutter Shark trawled in 1988 off Newcastle, New South Wales. Note the suctorial lips, the row of huge teeth in the lower jaw and tiny teeth in the upper jaw."
Since this is an unusual animal, here are some quick facts about it:
Named for the cookie-shaped wounds that it leaves on the bodies of larger fish, this cigar-shaped shark attaches itself to its prey with its lips, and then spins to cut out a cookie-shaped plug of flesh from the larger animal. (Amazingly, these sharks have even been know to attack submarines!)
Living in the dark depths of the ocean, the cookie cutter shark can be found to depths of 11,500 feet. At night, the cookie cutter ventures to the surface to feed, but spends its days in the depths.
For up to three hours after its death, the cookie cutter shark will emit a glow from its mouth.
[Thanks to Roger Carlson, who sent me the idea for using a cookie cutter shark!]
Last week, we posted this image of a shark and asked you to decide if it was real or not.
The vast majority of you voted that it was real, and you're right: this image of a crocodile shark is real! I found it on the Elasmobranch Research Lab' s website. Photographed by Stephen M. Kajiura, I had thought the shark's obscenely large eyball and miniscule, needle-like teeth would confuse many of you, but once again, you proved otherwise. Since crocodile sharks aren't super-common, I thought I'd provide some resources for you to learn more about them:
Crocodile sharks have exceptionally large eyes, which is probably for night-feeding or hunting in deep, dark waters.
They are found from subtropical to tropical zones of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.
Although they only reach about 3 feet in length, the Crocodile shark and the Megamouth shark are sister taxa (more closely related to one another than to any other group), sharing a relatively recent common ancestor. Weird!
The name "crocodile shark" is derived from the Japanese "Mizu-wani" (literally, "water crocodile"). The name reflects not only the shark's prominent, spike-like teeth, but also its habit of snapping vigorously when removed from the water. Japanese fishermen who have suffered the misfortune of underestimating the Crocodile Shark's reach attest that it can bite very hard.
Last weekend, we showed you an image of a tiny, little diver swimming up to a frighteningly massive jellyfish and asked you to decide whether it was real or not.
Overwhelming, you cried fake. For those of you who voted this way, you're right: the photo is not real. I was thinking that recent reports of huge jellies in Asia -- specifically, Nomura's jellyfish -- would make you vote incorrectly. However -- although they grow large -- the bells of Nomura's jellies only reach 6 or 7 feet in diameter (see below).
[Thanks to Eric Brodeur, who provided the contest image, and thanks to the Museum of Hoaxes for helping to make this the most popular Real or Not? ever!]
