A "Cyclops" shark cut from the belly of a pregnant dusky shark in the Gulf of California. [Read full story]
The shark had other deformities beside its single eye, including albino coloring and the absence of nostrils.
Such embryonic deformities are rare, and the shark likely would not have survived outside the womb.
A Mexican fisherman caught the Cyclops shark's mother near Cerralvo Island in the Gulf of California and was surprised to find this strange creature inside, along with several normal embryos.
Shark researchers examined and x-rayed the preserved shark to verify that it was no hoax.
A close-up of the shark's single eye, made of functional optical material.
The fisherman who caught the shark is keeping his specimen. [Read full story]
The shark researchers who examined the catch know of no environmental contamination that would have caused the shark's deformities. Most likely, the embryo was an accident of genetics.
