19 Mar, 2018 @ 12:21
1 min read

IN PICS: Rare shark spotted off coast of southern Spain

shark

A RARE shark has been spotted off the coast of southern Spain. 

In a series of pictures shared on social media, Enrique Emberley Moreno claimed his friend spotted what looked like a basking shark off the coast of Cadiz.

“My friend Henry sent me these pictures this morning near the port of Westeros,” he said in the post.

“It is approximately 1 metre long and is young, can any expert identify what breed it is?”

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1689073421169233&id=100001997758356

Commenters were quick to point out that they believe it to be an Oxynotus centrina – or Angular Roughshark.

Distinguishing features include extremely large spiracles, dorsal fins, and large dermal denticles above their eyes.

Like most of the Oxynotus species, O. centrina has upper teeth and blade-like lower teeth, with 12 rows of teeth on either side.

The species usually moves by gliding on the bottom of the sea, sometimes hovering over the sandy or muddy surfaces of the seabed, meaning it was very unusual to have been on the surface.

“It’s strange to see it on the surface, maybe some stressful situation like an attempted catch can make it come to the top,” commented local Alex Bartoli.

“It is protected and is listed in the list of species under special protection (Lespre).”

 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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