Cyclops Shark Discovered: Still Catching People’s Attention On The Web

Leon was shocked to see a male, unusual embryo with its nine siblings. He noticed right away that the odd looking shark has a single eye at the front of its head. (Enrique Lucero León)

Earlier this year, Enrique Lucero Leon, a fisherman in California, brought home something unexpected after fishing – a 22 inch albino Cyclops shark. It happened in July but photos released on the internet are still catching people’s attention. Leon caught a pregnant dusky shark legally from the Gulf of California. When he cut his catch open, he was shocked to see a male, unusual embryo with its nine siblings. He noticed right away that the odd looking shark has a single eye at the front of its head.

The pictures of this one-eyed shark are still catching people’s attention and have become viral appearing on different sites like Huffingtonpost, Yahoo, Facebook, and almost anywhere on the web.

When Galvan-Magana and Marcela Bejarano-Alvares found out about the new discovery aired on Facebook, they asked for Leon’s permission to borrow the shark for research. They review previous cyclopia searches, a congenital condition which happens in some species of animals and even humans.

“Cyclops sharks have been documented by scientists a few times before, also as embryos” said shark biologist Jim Gelsleichter.

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

Upon checking the unborn fetus, Galvan-Magana also claimed that the shark is also suffering from other deformities.

“The cyclops shark also has other deformities, including albinism, or a total lack of tissue pigments; no nostrils; a bump on its snout; and a spinal abnormality” he said.

“A mother’s poor diet—especially a lack of vitamin A—can cause cyclopia in mammals, including people, but it’s difficult to determine the cause of the condition in sharks”

But it was clearly stated that the abnormalities and deformities were not caused by pollution because the Gulf of California is free from any types of harmful substances and is definitely a pristine zone. Despite a number of deformities, the rest of the body is normal and has fully formed body parts that would be essential for swimming.

Because of its oddity, Leon is preserving the Cyclops shark fetus but he is open in having it tested.

“León regards the cyclops shark as a prize and has already preserved his oddity in alcohol.” Said Galvan-Magana

“Lots of people want to buy the shark, but the fisherman says no.”

It was clearly stated that the abnormalities and deformities were caused by pollution because the Gulf of California is free from any types of harmful substances and is definitely a pristine zone. (Enrique Lucero León)

“The fact that none have been caught outside the womb suggests cyclops sharks don’t survive long in the wild.” (Marcela Bejarano)

Despite a number of deformities, the rest of the body is normal and has fully formed body parts that would be essential for swimming. (Marcela Bejarano)