Scientists are feeding, studying two-headed sharks

Spanish scientists have discovered an extremely rare embryo of two-headed shark growing in the laboratory. It is known that this is the first time this trait has been detected in egg-laying sharks.

There have been two cases of sharks in the past, but reports indicate they are all breeds of sharks. Researchers are now learning more about this individual and hope to discover the cause of this mysterious two-headed (dicephaly) mutation .

Discover an extremely rare embryo of two-headed shark growing in the laboratory.

This embryo belongs to Atlanta catfish shark (Galeus Atlanticus), collected by scientists at the University of Malaga - Spain to study cardiovascular system. Of the 797 embryos collected, an embryo is different from other embryos: it has two heads. "Every head has its mouth, eyes, brain, spinal cord, 5 scales on each side" - the authors write in the Journal of Fish Biology.

This embryo also has 2 hearts, 2 stomachs, 2 liver but only 1 set of intestine and kidney, genitals. This is not the first time people have found sharks with two heads - up to 7 reports in scientific texts about two-headed sharks.

This is not the first time people have found sharks with two heads - up to 7 reports in scientific texts about two-headed sharks.

However, all of these reports include a shark-like shark, while cat shark is the first egg-laying shark to show dicephaly mutation - and this may be the key to helping us understand. The cause of this trait.

This individual has been stored so that scientists can study it more closely. In nature, this case is rare and unknown whether it is rare because of probability or simply that two-headed individuals are often difficult to survive long enough to be detected.

Historically, people have discovered snakes, two-headed cats and even people.

Historically, people have discovered snakes, two-headed cats and even people."They can survive after being born, but there is a high chance that life expectancy is very short, " said Theo Michelle Heupel, a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences in Hakai magazine. "It is unclear whether having two heads interferes with your ability to swim or hunt, or that internal organs will function normally."

The good news is that the cause seems to be mutations, not environmental pollution as in The Simpson. The researchers said that there were no mutants in the storage chamber where the embryos developed.

"They can survive after being born, but there is a high chance that life will be very short."

"Sometimes we find a double-headed shark. This is a genetic variation. Most do not survive." According to George Burgess, director of shark research at the Florida Museum of Natural History, answered National Geographic.

It is not clear whether the cause of mutations in sharks that lay eggs and sharks give birth is different, but hopefully this embryonic study will give us the answer.

"Sometimes we find a double-headed shark. This is a genetic variation. Most do not survive."