A group of scientists had to retract having reported the discovery of a strange goblin shark in the Mediterranean Seabecause this would be a toy.
Goblin sharks are marine animals about which not much is known, because they live in deep water. Their sightings are very rare.
They are characterized by having a terrifying appearance, with protruding jaws and teeth.s. While it’s possible that such a shark could be lurking in the Mediterranean, no one has ever seen one there.
An update to the “did someone present a photo of a toy as evidence of a range extension of a rare species” saga:
The comment: https://t.co/JmVFKFD3xX
Author’s reply to the comment: https://t.co/8oHEUXvgEd pic.twitter.com/OVYpQEt9Ay
— Dr David Shiffman (@WhySharksMatter) March 14, 2023
A photo of an unverified shark
The story dates back to August 2020, when a Greek man unaffiliated with the scientific field named Giannis Papadakis uploaded an image to social networks, in which a strange goblin shark is seen resting on some rocks.
The image of this specimen ended up in the hands of a group of scientists, who relied solely on the photograph – without analyzing the animal’s body – to include the goblin shark in a report in the Mediterranean Marine Science magazine in May 2022.
Criticism for the appearance of the animal
In November of the same year, a group of researchers wrote a protest article questioning the veracity of the specimen found on the Greek coasts, stating that they had “doubts” that this goblin shark “is a natural specimen.”
These specialists claimed in their criticisms that the shark in the photo lacked teeth, had very round fins or that its gill cavities were closed, and did not correspond to the characteristics of an original specimen.
Likewise, criticism came from other shark specialists: “It doesn’t look good. It’s too small and its gills don’t seem to be really open. It doesn’t look natural at all“said David Ebert, author of the book “Sharks of the World”, in statements collected by the New York Times.
The mystery comes to an end. It’s a toy shark. https://t.co/qRdPP5PvzQ
— Andrew Thaler (@DrAndrewThaler) March 16, 2023
Similarity to a plastic toy
The scientific discussion took on more commotion when the image of a plastic shark toy sold by the Italian toy company DeAgostini, which bears a striking resemblance to the marine animal found in Greece, went viral on social media.
This toy “shows a great similarity to the specimen in the published image,” he told the New York Times. Jürgen Pollerspöck, independent shark researcher and author of the article questioning the authenticity of the specimen.
Change of study and subsequent resignation
At the beginning of March 2023, the authors of the criticized article were forced to make some modifications.. They insisted that the animal was real, but that it was an embryo that measured seven instead of 30 inches.
However, within the last week, they retracted the post: “The named authors remove these recent posts due to remaining uncertainty, as they are based on a citizen’s visual observation (citizen science), with no available data. specimen”, they point out.
“The information available was not adequate to support this record based solely on photographic evidence and direct contact between the authors and the citizen,” they conclude.
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