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| South Carolina Hammerhead (Photo credit to South Carolina University) |
Scientists
are buzzing about a new species of hammerhead shark discovered in South
Carolina. Joe Quattro, an ichthyologist from the University of South Carolina, takes
claim to this amazing discovery. To officially classify it as a new species it required
extensive fieldwork, genetic testing, and literature research. This rare
species, Sphyrna gilberti, is now
called the South Carolina hammerhead. The species is very similar in appearance
to the common scalloped hammerhead, so genetic evidence was needed to prove
they were two different species. The story Quattro relays about the time and
dedication it took to confirm the new shark species is just as impressive as
the discovery itself. Quattro accomplished an amazing feat and this addition to
the science community will make a lasting impact on marine biology research in
the future.
Quattro has
been a biologist at USC since 1995 and has focused his research on fish
populations in freshwater rivers that connect to the ocean. His main fields of
interest as a scientist are conservation, genetic diversity, and taxonomy. His
research focuses on the four South Carolina river basins, the Pee Dee, Santee,
Edisto, and Savannah. He spent many hours on the rivers collecting genetic data
from mainly pygmy sunfishes and basses. Then
he branched out to study short-nosed sturgeon and shark pups.
The South
Carolina coast is a popular breeding ground for several shark species.
Hammerheads, specifically, will birth their young at the boarder of the ocean
and estuary. After birth, the shark pups remain local for roughly a year until
they grow larger enough to enter the open ocean ecosystem.
Quattro and
his student, William Driggers III, studied and collected genetic data from
these hammerheads regularly. Genetic analysis showed that the common scalloped
hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, had two
different genetic signatures in both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes.
Quattro and Driggers resorted to old literature to try to answer the genetic
differences. They found that Carter Gilberti, a curator at the Florida Museum
of Natural History from 1961-1998, described a hammerhead that had 10 fewer
vertebrae than the common hammerhead. The hammerhead was found in 1967 near
Charleston, S.C. At that time science and technology was not as advanced as it
is today, so scientists never determined if it was a different species.
This
discovery is truly an accomplishment for Quattro and Driggers and the
scientific community because it furthers our knowledge of the ocean and its
species. To honor Gilberti, Quattro and Driggers named the species after him, Sphyrna gilberti, because he unknowingly
helped them solve the mystery. Further research needs to be conducted on the
South Carolina hammerhead as a population. Quattro wants to learn more about
their population numbers and their place in the ocean ecosystem. Finding a new
shark species is not only a huge success for Quattro, but it brings awareness
to the South Carolina hammerhead as a species.
Photo Credit to University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina. "New
species of shark: Carolina hammerhead." ScienceDaily,
7 Nov. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107170959.htm
I'm so glad you put up a post about this discovery. Sharks are already an awesome group of animals, and finding a new species is pretty exciting. I like the ocean and how so much of it is a mystery. This was a great read, thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteIt was really interesting to read as well as interview you on this topic. I find it astounding how for years we identified this species as the typical hammerhead shark. It is amazing how genetic scientific advancements uncover the differences between species and how our naked eye finds the two indistinguishable. I found a cool video showing how they act around metals.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH0UJBZmpHw