This frightening looking crocodile shark has just washed up on UK shores and the worrying thing is, no-one’s quite sure why…
I literally had no idea this rare breed even exists, but apparently it does, although it’s normally found on the coast of Brazil or Australia, far away from the UK seas.
This startling creature was found on the south coast of England, on a beach near Plymouth, in freezing cold waters – the total opposite of its usual habitat, the Plymouth Herald reports.
Steven Greenfields was out walking with his family at Hope Cove Beach, when he found the bizarre looking animal.
He told the Press Association:
My whole family was stunned as the animal had really unusual features but was unmistakably a shark.
I have experience with sharks whilst swimming and diving overseas, but, despite a fair amount of fishing and swimming in the UK all my life, have never seen any shark in UK waters other than dogfish.
Because it was so unusual we consulted our local aquarium to confirm what species it was.
The crazy-looking shark is normally found in tropical seas and is apparently the smallest living mackerel shark on the planet, reaching only one metre in length.
Experts are understandably baffled as to how the ‘near threatened’ species, might have landed up on the chilly UK coast.
The curator of the National Marine Aquarium, James Wright told the Plymouth Herald:
This species has never been recorded in the UK before, as it is normally found in deep waters during the day in tropical climates, such as Brazil and Australia, then coming shallower at night to feed.
This time of year though UK waters are at their coldest so this occurrence is very unusual.
Other reports suggest the shark was a victim of the illegal exotic creature trade, which could explain why it found its way onto UK shores…
How mysterious.
