Wake up, sweetie — new sharks just dropped.
It appears that the South Puget Sound is now home to two new species of shark: the broadnose sevengill shark and the soupfin shark.
Both are native to Washington, but come from different regions. Broadnose sevengills are typically found along the coastline and northern Sound + soupfins usually stay up north in the Salish Sea.
So what the heck are they doing down here?
One likely theory is rising water temperatures. While plenty of fish (like salmon) can’t survive in warmer waters, species like anchovies can — and soupfin sharks loooveeee a good anchovy snack.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration + the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are looking into the population sizes of both shark species so that fisheries can take necessary precautions.
But let’s intro our new aquatic neighbors by going over some fun facts.
The soupfin
- Scientific name: Galeorhinus galeus
- Average size: Up to six feet
- Soupfin sharks typically travel in schools of up to 50 other sharks (which is why they’re also referred to as school sharks).
- Females can give birth to up to 52 pups per year.
- They’re called soupfin sharks because their fins are the standard ingredient for sharkfin soup. However, the dish’s popularity also led to over-fishing, almost driving the species to extinction.
- A typical diet includes crab, shrimp, lobsters, worms, and other invertebrates.
The broadnose sevengill
- Scientific name: Notorynchus cepedianus
- Average side: Up to nine feet
- Broadnose sevengill sharks are — believe it or not — named for their wide noses and seven gills.
- These sharks feed on bat rays, harbor seals, crabs, carrion, and other sharks (watch out, soupfin).
- These sharks can be aggressive when provoked, but there hasn’t ever been a reported attack on humans in open water.
