FIRST photo of newborn great white shark released as a 'pup' stuns scientists
THE first-ever photo of a newborn great white shark has been released, leaving scientists stunned by the groundbreaking discovery.
Experts say the baby shark may have been only a few hours old, making it the first great white shark ever seen so soon after birth.
Scientists have previously only seen older shark pups or baby great white sharks found dead inside their deceased pregnant mothers.
But never before has a great white shark been spotted so early in its life cycle.
The spectacular image was captured on July 9, 2023 by nature filmmaker Carols Gauna and UC Riverside PhD student Phillip Sternes in Santa Barbara, California.
While scanning the waters for sharks, the pair spotted something unusual in the viewfinder of their drone camera.
It was an amazing white shark pup, but unlike anything they had ever seen before.
Typically, great white sharks – the largest predatory sharks in the world – are gray on top and white on the underside.
But this shark, which was about five feet long, was pure white.
Sternes said: “We enlarged the images, put them in slow motion and realized that the white layer was being shed from the body as it swam.
“I believe it was a newborn white shark shedding its embryonic layer.”
However, the couple has acknowledged the possibility of a skin condition for the baby white shark's shedding.
Gauna added, “If that's what we saw [shedding due to skin condition]then that is also monumental, because no such condition has ever been reported for these sharks.”
But they don't believe this to be the case and are instead convinced that their sighting was a newborn great white.
And they laid out the reasons for this in their paper, published in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes.
The PhD student explains: 'Our first evidence is that large white females give birth to live young.
'In the womb, the embryonic sharks may feed on unfertilized eggs as a protein source.
“The mothers provide the growing shark pups with extra nutrition with a 'milk' secreted in the womb.
“I believe what we saw was the baby rejecting intrauterine milk.”
The second reason he gave was the size and shape of the shark.
It was thin, short and round, which the researchers said was an indication that it was a newborn baby.
“In my opinion, this one was probably hours, maybe a day old at most,” Sternes said.
Finally, large, probably pregnant sharks have been spotted in this area for years; many of these were observed and filmed by Gauna herself.
The location has therefore long been suggested as a birthing location for great whites, but there was previously no evidence for this.
“I filmed three very large sharks in this particular location the days before that looked pregnant,” he said.
“On this day, one of them dived down, and not long after this all-white shark appeared.
'It's not hard to deduce where the baby came from.
“This could be the first evidence we have of a pup in the wild, making this a definitive birthplace.”
This rare sighting could provide new insights into where great white sharks give birth, which has long been a mystery in shark science, according to the wildlife filmmaker.
He said: “Where great white sharks give birth is one of the holy grails of shark science.
'No one has ever been able to determine where they were born, nor has anyone seen a newborn baby shark alive.
“Dead white sharks have been found in deceased pregnant mothers. But nothing comparable.”
How do sharks give birth?
Shark reproduction differs from that of most fish – and is done by internal fertilization in all species.
The marine predators put a lot of energy into producing well-developed embryos that have good chances of survival.
Oviparity, or egg laying, is one of the most common ways sharks reproduce.
Some shark species produce eggs that are encased in a tough 'leathery' egg capsule.
A female can spend a long time laying her eggs, ensuring they are kept safely in a safe place. It can take six to nine months before they are ready to hatch.
The protective capsule acts as a life support machine and contains everything necessary.
The embryo absorbs nutrients from a yolk sac before hatching – emerging as a miniature version of the adult.
Oviviparity is another form of shark reproduction in which the female carries eggs in her body rather than laying them, providing additional security from potential predators.
The embryos develop in an egg capsule with a thin membrane.
Once developed, the baby shark will hatch into her mother, who will then give birth to the young offspring.
Viviparity, also called live birth, is the third and most advanced reproductive method in sharks.
The baby shark develops inside their mother's body and receives nutrients and oxygen through the umbilical cord, just like other mammals.
However, when the puppies are born, they are immediately independent and have to fend for themselves.
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