MSNBC is reporting today that “Dozens of fish, shrimp and coral species, including two new types of a shark that walks on its fins, have been discovered in waters off New Guinea in the South Pacific, conservationists announced Monday.” And while I’m definitely fascinated to read and see more about the findings, and how environmentalists are going to try and protect the so-called “species factory” along the New Guinea coast from fishermen, I’d be most interested in seeing some video of this walking shark. Apparently the creature (which is part of the epaulette shark family, and pictured above) uses its fins to scamper away from enemies. More on the findings here at MSNBC.
Oh, and be sure to check out their photo gallery. It’s the sort of stuff that makes Steve Zissou drool.
Comments (3)
Comment
- subscribe /
- give a gift /
- terms of service /
- about /
- contact us /
- write for us /
- ad info /
- subscriber services /
- press /
- privacy policy /
- rss /
© 2012 Mental Floss Inc. All Rights Reserved. Mental Floss is a registered trademark owned by Felix Dennis. mentalfloss.com is a trademark owned by Felix Dennis.
Disclaimer: All submissions made to mental_floss become the property of Mental Floss Inc and may be used without further permission by the submitter and without compensation to the submitter. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not submit anything to mental_floss.
Anyone who thinks a “walking” shark is something new has never watched C-Span.
posted by Sheldon Siegel on 9-19-2006 at 10:58 am
Saw the video last night and just can’t call what the shark was doing “walking”. Yes, he was on the bottom of the ocean, but when he moved his fins, he came up off of the bottom and moved forward. He was by no means resting his weight on the fins, just using them for propulsion.
Now, if they were using their tail fins and were standing upright, that would be something to see!
posted by Susan on 9-19-2006 at 12:45 pm
Susan, you mean Jabberjaw!
posted by Shane on 9-19-2006 at 4:23 pm