Just in time for Shark Week, Florida scientists discover deepwater shark species 'Genie's Dogfish'

Wayne T. Price | Florida Today

Show Caption Hide Caption New shark species is cute, but not so cuddly Check out the newly discovered deepwater shark species, the Genie's Dogfish by researchers at MarAlliance in Belize.

MELBOURNE — Lurking in the darkness with large green-blue eyes, is the Squalus clarkae, or "Genie's Dogfish," a new species of shark recently discovered by Florida researchers.

The Squalus clarkae, or "Genie's Dogfish" is an homage to famed shark research pioneer Eugenie Clark. Clark, who died at age 92 in 2015, studied sharks most of her life and was founder of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota off the Gulf of Mexico.

"She did a lot to advance our understanding of marine biodiversity there," said Toby Daly-Engel, assistant professor and shark biologist at Florida Tech. "So naming the dogfish shark from the Gulf of Mexico after her is the most appropriate thing in the world."

Daly-Engel was among four researchers involved in the discovery. Others include marine scientists Mariah Pfleger of Oceana, lead author of a paper published in the scientific journal Zootaxa about the shark discovery — and Daly-Engel’s former graduate student — and Florida State University’s Dean Grubbs and Chip Cotton.

In February, Daly-Engel made headlines when it was announced that a research team she led discovered a new deepwater species of the Atlantic sixgill shark.

For the latest discovery, researchers had labeled this species of dogfish shark Squalus mitsukurii. Using new genetic testing and morphology, the study of an organism through physical appearance, they discovered and classified Genie’s Dogfish as a new species.

“Deep-sea sharks are all shaped by similar evolutionary pressure, so they end up looking a lot alike,” Daly-Engel said. “So we rely on DNA to tell us how long a species has been on its own, evolutionarily, and how different it is.”

Pfleger said shark finning and overfishing are leading fisheries to search deeper waters for their catch and "unfortunately, much less is known about many of the creatures that live in the deep."

The announcement of Genie's Dogfish comes five days before the start of Discovery Channel's Shark Week — a weeklong focus on one of nature's most talked-about, if not overly feared, predators. This year marks the network's 30th anniversary of Shark Week, and the TV lineup is jam-packed with celebrity encounters and shark programs

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