Mollisquama mississippiensis
Species of pocket shark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mollisquama mississippiensis or the American pocket shark[2] is a species of pocket shark native to the Gulf of Mexico. It is the second species of pocket shark to be described.
| American pocket shark | |
|---|---|
| |
| The only known specimen of M. mississippiensis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Dalatiidae |
| Genus: | Mollisquama |
| Species: | M. mississippiensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Mollisquama mississippiensis Grace, Doosey, Denton, Naylor, H. L. Bart & Maisey, 2019 | |
Discovery
The shark was first discovered by scientists from Tulane University that were conducting a study on sperm whales in 2010. In 2013, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identified it as a pocket shark,[3] the first to be found in its region. A previously found specimen of a different pocket shark species was caught off the coast of Chile[4] in 1979 and was used to identify the two different species due to their differences in size, vertebrae and numerous light-producing photophores.
Description
The head is bulbous, resembling that of a whale.[5] The shark is very small, at only 5.5 inches (140 mm). Near the gills are two "pockets" that secrete a luminous fluid which may enable the shark to hunt.[6] The body is grey with the fins being darker. The areas around the gills are cream colored.[7] There are clusters of photophores around the body, which are able to produce light.