A hammerhead shark caught in May this year in Florida, USA, could potentially set a Guinness World Record
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Hammerhead Shark (Photo: Discovery) |
for being pregnant with up to 55 offspring—the largest number ever recorded by scientists.
Researchers at the Mote Marine Laboratory, where the shark’s body was taken for examination, reported that the embryos were nearly full-term and only days away from birth. The mother shark, weighing 580 kg, is estimated to be between 40 and 50 years old.
Previously, it was believed that hammerhead sharks typically gave birth to litters ranging from 20 to 40 pups.
“While we are very grateful to the fisherman who sent the specimen to Mote, and we are learning a lot about this species from it, we are still saddened to see so many pups in the womb of this mother shark preparing to give birth,” said Dr. Robert Hueter, director of the shark research center at Mote.
The shark was caught off the coast of Boca Grande on May 23.
T. An
