Rare Two-Headed Baby Shark Caught by Fisherman In Maharashtra¡¯s Palghar

A fisherman in Maharashtra's Palghar region caught a rare spectacle of two-headed baby shark.

Nitin Patil, a fisherman from Satpati village caught this small fish in his net. Confused by the looks of it, he snapped a few pictures of this fish before releasing it back into the sea.

Twitter/Akshay Journo

Pictures of this rare genetic anomaly were shared on social media and it is no surprise that they are going viral.

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¡°We do not eat such small fish, especially sharks, so I thought it was strange but decided to throw it anyway,¡± Patil was quoted by HT as saying.

Later, the fishermen shared the images of the baby shark with researchers from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research ¨C Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR-CMFRI), Mumbai and they confirmed the discovery as ¡®very rare documentation.¡¯

two-headed #shark (dicephalic) recorded first time from #Maharashtra marine water. fisherman nitin patil from palghar, satpati found dicephalic Spadenose shark.
report - https://t.co/pq8zB94HPS@vidyathreya @SharkAdvocates @TheSharkStanley @akhileshkv7 @IUCNShark @anishandheria pic.twitter.com/fCIDXPd802

¡ª Akshay Mandavkar? (@akshay_journo) October 12, 2020

While confirming to HT the discovery as a very rare documentation, an ICAR-CMFRI scientist told the daily, ¡°Our records show that double-headed sharks are very rarely reported along the Indian coast. This species appears to be the embryo of the spadenose shark (Scoliodon laticaudus) from the Carcharhinidae family or a sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon species). Both are viviparous [birthing live young which have developed inside the body of the parent], and are common in Maharashtra waters.¡±

Also Read: Man Walks Out Of Water With A Small Shark Still Biting His Arm, Stands Around Laughing Until Help Arrives

Image For Representation

The scientist said the heads of the baby shark were joined behind the gills and such two-headed sharks were quite rare in the wild.

A fisherman had discovered a two-headed blue shark embryo in the Indian Ocean in 2018, as per National Geographic.

Also Read: Video: Man Grabs 8-Foot-Long Shark Near Beach, Opens Its Jaw With His Bare Hands