A new species of shark has been discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. It is has been named the Great Blue Shark. It was discovered by a marine biologist by the name of John Wilson in 2017. While exploring the Gulf of Mexico he spotted the new species of shark and what he first noticed was the blue complexion of the shark. These sharks weigh anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 pounds and can grow up to 22 feet in length when fully grown. Females tend to be larger than the males when they are fully grown.
These sharks have many of the same characteristics of a great white shark but have longer fins and bigger teeth. After some research, scientists have concluded that this shark has been around for about 200 million years which is about 200 million years younger than the great white species. These sharks need to eat at least 60 pounds of animal blubber to survive every two weeks. Great Blue Sharks are the largest species of sharks found in the Gulf of Mexico. Sharks of this size tend to live in more open waters and considering the fact that they live in the gulf, which is a semi-enclosed sea, these sharks have proven to be highly adaptable to their surroundings.
The reason why it took scientists so long to find this new species is unknown. There are theories that the shark lived in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for most of its existence and lived so deep that biologists had virtually no way of coming across this new species. There are more studies being conducted on this shark to learn more about this species and its behavioral patterns. The discovery of this new species has led to the hunt to discover potential new species that have yet to be discovered.