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The number of two-headed sharks is on the rise. Worse than that, nobody has any idea why the mutant animals are becoming increasingly common. Which is straight up terrifying, no matter which way you slice it.
In a new report from the Journal of Fish Biology (there’s a journal for everything these days!), Spanish researchers have discovered two-headed sharks stemming from mammalian birth as well as being laid in eggs. The study says that despite the rising numbers, the animals don’t get found very often which makes it hard to pin down why exactly this is happening. Researchers are tracking abnormalities in catfish in a controlled environment to see about potential causes.
Currently, the most likely reason is cited as viral infections or pollution, the latter cause possibly explaining the rise in numbers as more of our oceans are compromised with pollution and chemicals. It could also be due to intense over-fishing in certain areas, which in turn shrinks the gene pool and leads to more instances of incest between fish and shark populations. So pretty much, no matter what this is probably related to humans messing the environment up for animals. Good going, guys.
A fun fact (“fun”) included in the study is that blue sharks give birth to the most two-headed babies, mostly because they can give birth to as many as 50 offspring at a time which leads to a higher chance for mutant babies. So if you’re looking to catch a mutant animal, the blue shark population is apparently where it’s at.
(Via The Daily Mail)
