Walking sharks discovered
So -- some sharks walk. Just not the scary ones. While great whites haunt the deep, walking sharks are content to scuttle in the shallows. They’ve been walking, or something close to it, for at least 9 million years. Shark scientists spent years sampling the DNA of the only known walking shark species to estimate when they evolved. They found four new species while they were at it. The youngest species might’ve evolved less than 2 million years ago, according to findings published this week in Marine and Freshwater Research. Walking sharks, also called “epaulette” sharks for their spots that resemble the military decor, “walk” on their muscular fins to forage for small fish along shallow reefs and sea grass. Walking sharks are found in eastern Indonesia and neighboring islands, New Guinea and parts of Australia.
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