Rare Pocket-Sized Shark With a Pocket Excites Marine Scientists

'Small sharks' may be an oxymoron but not for scientists who recently found of a one that measures just five inches long.

Colloquially called Pocket Shark, Mollisquama sp, gets its name because it has a small pocket like opening behind its pectoral fin. The pocket has been likened to that of kangaroos but its purpose is not known. The latest specimen was found 190 miles off Louisiana in 2010 during a mission to study whales.

"The pocket shark we found was only 5 and a half inches long, and was a recently born male. Discovering him has us thinking about where mom and dad may be, and how they got to the Gulf. The only other known specimen was found very far away, off Peru, 36 years ago," said Mark Grace of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and lead author of the new study. The shark specimen discovered had an umbilical scar which indicated that it was born not long before researchers found it.

Taxonomical studies conducted placed the shark in the genus Mollisquama while genetic analysis showed it was related to another shark family called Dalatiidae. Like its cousins, the pocket shark can have a big appetite for prey at its scale.

Further research on the specimen is expected to lead more exciting discoveries.

"This record of such an unusual and extremely rare fish is exciting, but its also an important reminder that we still have much to learn about the species that inhabit our oceans," Grace added.