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Science

Have You Ever Seen a Mutant Cyclops Shark?

Oct. 14, 2011 7:32am Liz Klimas

Rare Cyclops Shark and Fetuses Found off Mexican Coast

(Photo: Enrique Lucero León)

This creature almost doesn’t seem real with its single, giant eye, bulbous head and oddly pale coloration.

Believe it or not, it’s actually a very common species of bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, with a mutant twist. The mutation is called cyclopia and can occur in humans and other animals, although extremely rare in all species.

Comparing the cyclops mutant shark to a normal bull shark. (Photo: Enrique Lucero León)

A side angle comparison of the mutant version and normal version of the species. (Photo: Enrique Lucero León)

According to National Geographic, a dead female bull shark carrying nine fetuses was caught earlier this year by a fisherman off the coast of Mexico. The fetuses eyes’, although they were dead, remained in tact in the womb giving researchers the chance for a good look.

(Photo: Enrique Lucero León)

National Geographic quotes University of Northern Florida as saying that cyclops sharks have been found before as embryos:

The fact that none have been caught outside the womb suggests cyclops sharks don’t survive long in the wild.

Overall, finding such an unusual animal reinforces that scientists still have a lot to learn, Gelsleichter added.

“It’s a humbling experience to realize you ain’t seen it all yet.”

The mother shark was already dead and beginning to decompose when she was found, but she held nine, intact fetuses. (Photo: Marcela Berjarano Alvarez)

(Photo: Marcela Bejarano Alvarez)

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Comments (91)

PApeacemaker
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:45am
I bet its Blinky’s brother & it was caught in Springfield by one of the Simpson family lol

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- ChiefGeorge
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 12:51pm
  Kill it Quinn, Kill it!
  
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- shogun459
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 1:23pm
  Sooo, fried or grilled.
  
  yum
  
  Report this comment
- Zer0
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 4:09pm
  Kill it with FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
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- Black Manta
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 4:14pm
  Wow people do and believe anything to get attention….
  
  Report this comment
- Isaiah51
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 11:43pm
  Googlybear
  
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justlistentome
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:44am
So, do the live ones have tunnel vision??

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- Pontiac
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 11:06am
  “tunnel vision”
  Uh no… Cover one of your eyes. That’s not tunnel vision.
  
  I wanna hurl after seeing those pics…
  
  Report this comment
- bum
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 2:40pm
  you mean no depth perception
  
  Report this comment
- 4xeverything
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 5:20pm
  Sharks eyes are on the sides of their heads…meaning that they don’t have depth perception like humans. Our eyes both focus in on an object together, and use shadows for a more refined perception of what the object is, what it is doing, and how far away it is from us. That cyclops shark (if it is not blind) only has to deal with being able to see from the front only instead of from both sides of it’s head simultaneously, but since it is a Bull shark I don’t think it has to many predators other than man anyway.
  
  Report this comment
This_Individual
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:27am
Are there any cyclopic politicians? :)

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countryfirst
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:18am
It’s a white fish that stands out among the group and only has one eye, how could it possibly survive without government assistance.

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Ferrarello
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:16am
Poor guy . ( Cyclops)

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banjarmon
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:03am
Some lawyer lost his kid!!!

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- Man-bearpigdogs
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:54am
  Just can’t stop laughing!
  
  Report this comment
Evil_Conservative
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:01am
Strangely i think of Austin Powers 2 – “come on down and see the one eyed monster” “that looks like a ….”

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GA_dandelion
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:53am
Thank you Blaze…nice break

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Zoe
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:44am
Gee Darwin, am I supposed to have one eye in my forehead? I’m feeling rather advanced!

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autigers2010champs
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:35am
What the HELL?? That is crazy looking how cool had it lived and been raised. He is the reason I don’t swim in the ocean.

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MOLLYPITCHER
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:34am
What the hell? Has the Blaze turned into the National Inquirer?

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- obama-mecca-me-sick
  Posted on October 15, 2011 at 5:45pm
  Or National Geographic???
  
  Report this comment
Darren
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:07am
Hope nobody blames globalwarming.

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- smithclar3nc3
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:39am
  I sure hope no believes this story. It’s so obviously a fake that only a true idiot could believe it. Just like AGW
  
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- Homeschooled
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:01am
  I’m sorry Smithclar3nc3, how is this faked exactly? I’m pretty sure the blaze only puts up true stories. I am also positive that, that is a real shark and that can really happen.
  
  Report this comment
- smithclar3nc3
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 11:23am
  Look at the the photos dumba55. You can even see where the fake eye socket is pulling from the mold.
  
  Report this comment
- Charybdis
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 12:00pm
  Well, to be fair, this isn’t a Blaze-generated story, but a link from a National Geographic article. So if it’s fake, then it fooled them as well. Not that that hasn’t happened before with them. The Archaeoraptor hoax from China several years back comes to mind. So take it with a grain of salt I guess. Only this critter was apparently available for soft-tissue study, unlike the so-called Archaeorapter. So I tend to think it’s very real.
  
  Report this comment
- smithclar3nc3
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 12:44pm
  Hey char,you need to read more carefully NATIONAL GEO. never touched this supposed creature. So your claim enspoucing the had soft tissue is unsubstantiated.They did claim to have found one eye shark fetuses in a dead Bull shark. This one was supposedly caught alive.
  
  Report this comment
- Charybdis
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 1:43pm
  No, you misinterpreted what I said. I didn’t claim NG actually performed a soft-tissue study. Only that, unlike Archeaorapter (which was presumably a fossil), this was a creature photographed as a soft-tissue specimen. And the NG apparently decided that the discovery was real enough to write an article about, noting that this type of mutation has been shown to occur in a number of different species. So if you have an issue with it’s legitimacy, your beef should be with NG as a professional organization, rather than with the Blaze or those who take the find at face value.
  
  Report this comment
- smithclar3nc3
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 3:13pm
  Char,
  Take the words of one of greatest Founding Father apply them in your everyday life.
  Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear.
  Point being just because a website you like prints something doesn’t always make it a FACT
  
  Report this comment
- Charybdis
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 5:09pm
  Actually, I do live my life that way. This latest fish could indeed be found to be a hoax. Fine, whatever. But since there is a scientifically verified precedent for such a mutation, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
  
  Report this comment
- UrsaMajor
  Posted on October 15, 2011 at 12:03am
  I’ve never seen anything like it before, therefore is fake. I even looked up cyclopia online AND in my encyclopedia set. Although there are several references, I have never PERSONALLY experienced it, so, it does not exist.
  
  My logic is FLAWLESS!
  
  Report this comment
- UrsaMajor
  Posted on October 15, 2011 at 12:06am
  You quote the founders yet you take the very left-wing, progressive, pseudo-intellectual stance of, “If it has not been discovered by our God ~SCIENCE~ then it does not exist.”
  
  Report this comment
- grayling646
  Posted on October 15, 2011 at 6:16am
  I think it’s an October fool’s day joke
  
  Report this comment
Meyvn
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:45am
Awesome. haha.

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TomFerrari
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:45am
What, no wooden shoe?

“Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
— And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
— Is a wee one’s trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
— Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
— As you rock in the misty sea
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
——– Wynken,
——– Blynken,
——– And Nod.”

So, was this Wynken or Blynken?

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ZengaPA65
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:31am
Willy the one eyed wonder shark!

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- BrandyWilson
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:40am
  It was a one-eyed…one-finned…swimming….white-people-eater!…..Freaky as all get out!
  
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- oohisis
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:21am
  lol…as I was scrolling down reading the comments, I started humming that song!!!
  
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Locksmith
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:19am
@SNOW: you mean “UNcommon sense”, right? ;)

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Harryc123
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:13am
9 fetuses in the womb of a dead mother? Obviously the republicans fault. They want this to happen.

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Discord
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:12am
Old news is really old.

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quicker
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:04am
OH MY GOD, it`s Obamas adviser.

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- piper60
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:27am
  On economics, no doubt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
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TwoLazy
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:50am
The head shape looks suspiciously like that of a whale …. Hummm … could there have been some hanky panky there?

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EqualJustice
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:49am
I think I see a DISNEY film in his future! How adorable and lovable is he? Kids would love a feel good story about acceptance using this little guy!

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- TomFerrari
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:37am
  Only if HeeeeEEeee SpeeEeeEeaks WhaaaaAAAaaale and has a “lucky eye”.
  
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- biohazard23
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:10am
  Did that sound a bit orca-ish?
  
  Report this comment
- Indymaverick
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 10:34am
  I see a marketing opportunity here. Willy the one eyed shark stuffed animals and toys !!
  
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FeliciaJewel
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:49am
My great uncle said to me once, the day you realize that you don’t know it all is the day you become intelligent. This just proves I have not seen it all or heard it all. Waiting for tomorrow to see what I will learn!!!

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- Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:02am
  Your great uncle indeed demonstrated wisdom; and common sense.
  
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KickinBack
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:45am
The first thing that popped into my mind was ‘Futurama’!

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- Secessionista
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:16am
  Lela is SO HOT!
  
  But let’s not forget the radioactive fish in the nuclear cooling pond from the Simpsons.
  
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- RichNGadsden
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:22am
  Yeah, Blinky!
  
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niki
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:41am
He’s so cute. I wish they had let him live.

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SpankDaMonkey
Posted on October 14, 2011 at 7:39am
.
BP did you do that?…………

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- Gzeee1969
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 8:36am
  Do you have to ask….
  
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- Phantom II
  Posted on October 14, 2011 at 9:58am
  George Bush just doesn’t quit, does he?
  
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