New Shark Species Discovered from the Galápagos Islands

The Galápagos catshark (Bythaelurus giddingsi) is a new known deepwater shark species found first in 1995 from the Galápagos Islands by John McCosker. The specimen was brought to the California Academy of Sciences where Douglas Long recognized it as a new shark species. He and Carole Baldwin, along with McCosker, first formally recorded and described this new species in the March 2012 edition of Zootaxa (pdf). The shark is named after the prolific underwater photographer, Al Giddings. California Academy of Sciences has the full story. Some of you may recall The Tentacle Sessions that Douglas Long led in June 2001.

photo via California Academy of Sciences