Nature
PUBLISHED
These sharks squiggling in utero could warm the hearts of anyone, even if the childhood trauma of "Jaws" never left you.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.This video, revealed by Discovery during Shark Week, shows Dr James Sulikowski and scientists from the University of New England as they perform an ultrasound scan on the tiger shark.
When the researchers pulled up the 3.8-meter (12.5-foot) tiger shark named “Emily”, they had no idea she was pregnant. But after a quick examination and a sonogram, they managed to discover she was carrying around 20 tiger pups, which they estimate to be about 40 to 45 centimeters (15 to 18 inches) long each. The researchers think these pups will be ready to raise hell in the outside ocean in just a few months, although it is hard to say. After all, this is the first time a sonogram has been done.
Congratulations Emily, you’re going to make a great parent.
Update: This was first sonogram of a tiger shark, not the first sonogram of any shark as previously suggested. Earlier studies have performed sonograms on other species of shark, such as nurse shark.
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