An unusual hunt kicked off in March when scientists were eager to remember a runaway cadaver . It belong to aGreenland shark , a very rare find for beachcomber but one that senior inquiry fellow Professor Rosie Woodroffe stumbled across in Cornwall , UK .
However , the Greenland shark got the heck out of dodge when the tide come in and so a hunting company was launched to try and retrieve the dead creature and the academic insights its body would contain . Aselusive creaturesthat can endure 2,600 meters ( 8,530 feet ) deeply and are theworld ’s long - living craniate , they can be hard to study . gratefully , just a few sidereal day subsequently it was outdo out of the sea .
The Greenland shark has since been under the care of the Cornwall Marine Pathology Team , part of the Zoological Society London ’s ( ZSL ) Cetacean Stranding Investigate Programme ( CSIP ) . Among them was pathologist James Barnett , who notice something was a bit off with the shark ’s brain .
What ’s that I hear you say ? You ’ve never come across a Greenland shark brain ? Let ’s interchange that .
“ During the post - mortem examination , the brain did bet slightly discoloured and congested and the fluid around the brainiac was mirky , raising the possibility of infection , ” Barnett said in a statement e-mail to IFLScience . It seems the Greenland shark had build up meningitis : an infection of the protective tissue layer that environ the brainpower and spinal cord , which affects humanity too and can be baneful .
mental capacity matter is a very delicate and soft tissue that canquickly degradeif not preserved properly ( though scientists did once find a2,600 - class - old human brain ) . As such , brains like this shark ’s are ordinarily prepare with formaldehyde during enquiry to help oneself keep things from getting too slushy .
Firmer formaldehyde brain in helping hand , Barnett ’s squad was able-bodied to solidify their conclusions .
“ [ The infection ] was then confirmed on microscopical exam of the brain ( histopathology ) , ” he say . “ A species of Pasteurella , a bacterium , was isolated from the fluid and this may well have been the cause of the meningitis . ”
The puerile female shark , estimated to be around 100 years old ( they can live up to 400 long time ) , was far from her natural home ground when she pall . It ’s likely the meningitis is to fault for this , and the silt found in her abdomen designate it ’s likely she was still alive when she maroon .
The wrong destruction for Earth ’s longest - go craniate marks the first prison term meningitis has been diagnosed in a Greenland shark , and it ’s hop-skip that further insight will be uncovered with closer inspection of the fauna ’s corpse .
“ The clay of the shark will be going to the Natural History Museum , London and various sample distribution are going to collaborate researchers so they can gain as much information as possible from this rare stranding , ” Barnett told IFLScience .
Avenues of investigation include its skin , which may hold cue to the evolution of hydrodynamic menses in shark , a toxicology screen door of its liver to detect any pollutant in its arrangement , andmicroplasticand dietary analysis of its gastrointestinal nerve tract .
It ’s also hoped that its honest long time can be identified through static isotope analysis of its oculus lens and vertebra . “ Was it swimming around the cryptic when the first human race war was raging ? ” asked Barnett .
A few samples ( freeze to a chilly -80 ° C/176 ° F ) will join theSanger Institute ’s Tree of Life Projectfor genome sequencing , marking its first Greenland shark entree . That ’s a lot of insight from just one beast .
“ Huge thanks are owed to the volunteers of Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Strandings internet and all those who spot and brought the body to shore , ” said CSIP task lead Rob Deaville .
“ This was an exceptional collaborative effort by all involve and was a singular opportunity to memorise more about the life of this cryptic and endangered deep - body of water shark . ”
