Talk about a one-of-a-kind discovery—an extremely rare cyclops shark (pictured) has been confirmed in Mexico, new research shows.
The 22-inch-long (56-centimeter-long) fetus has a single, functioning eye at the front of its head—the hallmark of a congenital condition called cyclopia, which occurs in several animal species, including humans.
Earlier this year fisher Enrique Lucero León legally caught a pregnant dusky shark near Cerralvo Island (see map) in the Gulf of California. When León cut open his catch, he found the odd-looking male embryo along with its nine normal siblings. “He said, That’s incredible—wow,” said biologist Felipe Galván-Magaña, of the Interdisciplinary Center of Marine Sciences in La Paz, Mexico.
Once Galván-Magaña and colleague Marcela Bejarano-Álvarez heard about the discovery—which was put on Facebook—the team got León’s permission to borrow the shark for research. The scientists then x-rayed the fetus and reviewed previous research on cyclopia in other species to confirm that the find is indeed a cyclops shark.
Cyclops sharks have been documented by scientists a few times before, also as embryos, said Jim Gelsleichter, a shark biologist at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. 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.”
Craaazy.
(via allcreatures)
Sami Stoner, a junior runner at Lexington, competes with her guide dog, Chloe, at the Galion Cross Country Festival this fall. Stoner is believed to be the first high school athlete in Ohio to run cross country with a guide dog. / Submitted photo
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(via Blind Lexington athlete making history with dog | Mansfield News Journal | mansfieldnewsjournal.com)
What a great story!
a place to love dogs: Puppy Mill Awareness Day →
Puppy Mill Awareness Is Everyday
Puppy Mill Awareness Day is this Saturday, September 17th. The organization will be holding an event in Pennsylvania this Saturday, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t attend. As they say on Awarenessday.org, “Puppy Mill Awareness isn’t one day, it’s…
Bad puppy mills, bad!!
This Looks Legit of the Day: I think it’s safe to say this is by far the most honest review on Yelp.
[reddit.]
(Source: thedailywhat)
Source: Flickr
Totally had this exact mug back in the day!! I miss it. Haha
Adorbs.
(via craftdiscoveries)
Climbing without a Rope (by harshLesson)
This guy is INSANE.
Furniture Shopping
..with my parents. The more stores we go to, the more things I see that I like, the more motivation I get to save for that down payment for my future condo! At least by the beginning of next year…hopefully I’ll have enough by then.





![thedailywhat:
This Looks Legit of the Day: I think it’s safe to say this is by far the most honest review on Yelp.
[reddit.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqhunwfeG01qzpwi0o1_400.jpg)

