Khaberni - The sea waves on "Lorca" beach in northwest Spain washed ashore a shark from the "Dalatias licha" species, renowned for its disproportionately large eyes relative to its body size, prompting followers to nickname it the "Anime Shark" because of its resemblance to cartoon characters.
According to the Spanish website "antena3", Luis Laria, the director of the center for studying and protecting marine species, conducted a thorough examination of the body, which weighed 18 kilograms and measured 1.45 meters.
The autopsy revealed the presence of 12 embryos inside the female shark, reflecting a biological loss for this species which suffers from slow reproduction rates.
Experts believe the cause of death was a 3.5 cm laceration to the esophagus, likely caused by swallowing a fishing hook that led to severe internal bleeding, causing the fish to wash ashore.
These creatures usually live at great depths, reaching up to 3500 meters, where their eyes have evolved to become this massive size to adapt to the perpetual darkness at the ocean floor.
This species is also known as the "Portuguese shark", and it has a huge liver weighing 5 kilograms, which constitutes a significant portion of its total body mass, aiding in maintaining its equilibrium in the deep waters.
These sharks feed on fish and occasionally hunt giant squid, but they currently face the risk of extinction due to a long history of being targeted for their meat and oils.
Despite the official ban on fishing them, this species remains vulnerable to indirect human threats.
