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A breed of dangerous shark has been recorded on the edge of British waters for the first time in history, and it could become a norm in our seas.

Two scientists from the Marine Institute were able to positively ID the creature as a hammerhead (sphyrna zygaena).

The great hammerhead, instantly recognisable from its uniquely shaped head and jagged, triangular teeth, is among ten other species that could descend regularly upon increasingly warmer waters around the UK: Including Devon and Cornwall.

Already, our seas have 30 categories of shark.

(Image: National Geographic/Paulo Velozo)

The sighting of the hammerhead happened during an annual Marine Institute survey of herring stocks in the Celtic Sea: West of Cornwall.

Dr Paul Conolly, director of fisheries and ecosystems services at the Marine Institute, said: "This is an exciting encounter, especially since a rare deep-water shark nursery, 200 miles west of Ireland, was discovered by Irish scientists last year.

"This sighting of a new shark species, shows the importance of our fishery surveys to monitor our marine environment, and to observe changes in our oceans and marine ecosystems."

Dr Simon Boxall, of the Southampton Oceanography Institute, has said that there is no reason why the breed of shark could not exist off our coasts.

The 10 new species of sharks that could inhabit British waters by 2050 Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) – the largest species of Hammerhead, currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans Blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) – currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans Sand tiger or Spotted Raggedtooth shark (Carcharias taurus) – currently found in the Mediterranean, African coasts, Atlantic coasts of USA and South America, Australia and South East Asia Bigeye Thresher (Alopias superciliosus) - currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus) - currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean Bronze Whaler or Copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) – currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain and Portugal, Atlantic coast of Africa, Atlantic coast of South America, and both sides of the Pacific coast Oceanic Whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus) – currently found in the mid-Atlantic, northern Spain, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) – currently found in the Mediterranean, southern Spain/Portugal, mid-Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and both sides of the Pacific coast Dusky shark (Carcharhinus obscurus) – currently found off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and off the Atlantic coast of Africa, North America, Caribbean, South America, Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni ) – currently found off the Atlantic coasts of France, Spain, Portugal and Africa, and in the Indian Ocean off the coasts of New Zealand and Japan

He said: "I am not aware of them being seen in our waters before but this sighting does not surprise me.

Last year John Ford, skipper of Funfish Trips and WeFerry which run out of several locations across the south coast, said he was witnessing more and more unusual shark species on Devon's shorelines.

He said: "I saw a thresher shark in Teignmouth Bay recently which is quite unusual. They are more common to the waters around Cornwall.

"I've been a skipper in this part of the world all my life and we are definitely starting to see more sharks here.

"People would definitely pay to come out and see that sort of thing, although I don't think they'd be interested in fishing for them.

"People love seeing the dolphins around Torbay, so why not sharks too?"

Polling of 2,000 British adults for Nat Geo WILD found four in 10 people admitted to an irrational fear of sharks while swimming in the sea, while more than eight out of 10 think they have been given a bad reputation by Hollywood.

A spokesman for Nat Geo WILD said sharks had been portrayed for too long in a one-dimensional way, as terrifying predators, and Sharkfest aimed to reveal the "true awe-inspiring nature of sharks".