Rare cyclops shark caught in Mexico

An extremely rare cyclops shark has been confirmed in Mexico, with a single functioning eye at the front of its head. Fisher Enrique Lucero León found the unusual male embryo inside a pregnant dusky shark he legally caught near Cerralvo Island in the Gulf of California. The 22-inch-long fetus has a single functioning eye at the front of its head, National Geographic reported. In contrast, its nine siblings were normal. "(Leon) said, That's incredible—wow," said biologist Felipe Galván-Magaña, of the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in La Paz, Mexico.

A rare one-eyed albino shark, caught by a fisherman in the Gulf of California.
PHOTO CREDIT: Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez, via National Geographic

The single eye indicates a congenital condition called cyclopia, which occurs in several animal species, including humans. "It's a humbling experience to realize you ain't seen it all yet," noted Jim Gelsleichter, a shark biologist at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. After Galván-Magaña and colleague Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez heard about the discovery, which was put on Facebook, the team got León's permission to borrow the shark for research, to confirm if it is indeed a cyclops shark. While cyclops sharks have been documented by scientists a few times, this was as embryos, said Gelsleichter. He added the fact that none have been caught outside the womb suggests cyclops sharks don't survive long in the wild. On the other hand, Gelsleichter added finding such an unusual animal confirms scientists still have much to learn. — TJD, GMA News