iStockphoto / Alessandro De Maddalena
A photographer in California by the name of Carlos Gauna who is well known by his Intagram handle ‘TheMalibuArtist’ has stunned the marine science world by publishing footage of what is believed to be the first-ever newborn great white shark.
The video footage below was published on January 29th and includes a link to the scientific journal Environmental Biology of Fishes. For the study, Carlos Gauna worked with Ph.D. candidate and shark researcher Phillip Sternes of the University of California-Riverside.
Footage and images of the newborn great white shark reveals a white film coming off of the shark that is believed to be “intrauterine substances still adhered to its body.” The study suggest it’s either that, or it is a previously undocumented skin disorder but all signs indicate this is the first-ever newborn great white shark seen in the wild.
On Instagram, Carlos shared still images of the newborn great white shark, an announcement of the peer reviewed paper, and the story of how he was able to capture the footage. He wrote:
Back in July of last year, during one of my countless hours of filming white sharks I came across a very peculiar looking white shark. This small shark was literally white all over. While Southern California is home to many white shark nurseries, this wasn’t technically in one. It was at a specific location that I’ve made some anecdotal observations over the years that were quickly becoming a trend. For the previous 3 years, a local aggregation of very large seemingly pregnant white sharks are visible for only a short period of time. I use the word “seemingly” because the only way to confirm this, is by a means I don’t have access to. But based on the countless hours of observations I’ve made of sharks of all sizes, including pregnant ones, I deduced that some of these sharks were indeed pregnant.
The caption goes on to say that on this day in July, one of the particularly large sharks was in the area which he suspected was a pregnant female. Writing “It disappeared just beyond the visual depths following some erratic yet unexpected movements. Shortly thereafter, this small, completely white covered white shark appeared. It was unlike anything I’ve seen before.”
As noted, it is quite impossible to know for sure if this is a newborn great white shark but all signs indicate that to be the case.
At the bare minimum, the published paper and accompanying images + video will shine a spotlight on the region. This could direct additional funding at research to that area in hopes of learning more about great white shark live birth as well as what it is about that area that attracts white sharks giving birth.