Sunday, March 31, 2013

31. Two-Headed Bull Shark Confirmed Rarest in the World


According to Journal of Fish Biology, the recent two headed bull shark found is the only recorded instance of dicephalia in a shark. Dicephalia is the scientific term for a fetus with two heads. The shark was accidentally found by a fisherman in the Gulf of Mexico. He caught an adult bull shark April 7 2011 and then extracted the two headed fetus. The two headed shark died shortly after and experts say that it had little chance of surviving anyway.  Michigan State University lead the study with Florida Keys Community College. They confirmed that the shark was one organism and not conjoined twins. MSU assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife, Michael Wagne said, “You’ll see many more cases of two-headed lizards and snakes…That’s because those organisms are often bred in captivity, and the breeders are more likely to observe the anomalies.” In the case of the shark, the axial skeleton and internal organs divided into two parallel systems. Why it mutated this way is unknown but it is unlikely that it had to do with the 2010 BP oil drill event. Wagner says, “Given the timing of the shark’s discovery with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, I could see how some people may want to jump to conclusions … Making that leap is unwarranted. We simply have no evidence to support that cause or any other.”

The author, Matt Peckham, starts out by referencing the well known film Jaws and the director Guillermo del Toro to give an idea about the strange shark. A reference to the Journal of Fish Biology is given. A whole paragraph on how the shark was found was given to keep the readers up to speed on everything. An explanation of the anomaly is also given to the reader.  Peckham also dismisses theories about the oil drilling accident as well as quotes Michael Wagne the MSU assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife. The article is to inform people on a strange mutation. People studying sharks or biology might find this interesting but some people might just like the interesting read.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/28/two-headed-bull-shark-confirmed-rarest-in-the-world/#ixzz2P9kYNusY

1 comment:

  1. Nice quotes. Try to smooth out your second paragraph and refocus it on specific rhetorical devices or explain the significance of the structure as a whole. Your second paragraph is very choppy, too.
    What you chose to emphasize in your analysis was interesting -- focusing on the conjoined twins or one organism aspect along with the BP oil spill, seeing a reason for this mutation.

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