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The ace - rarefied Greenland shark that washed ashore in England last calendar month had a brain infection when it died , according to an animal autopsy of its cadaver .
Pathologists discovered evidence ofmeningitis , an inflammation of the protective membranes that spread over the brain and spinal corduroy , according to a statement from the Zoological Society of London(ZSL ) . This is the first report disease - related expiry in aGreenland shark(Somniosus nanocephaly ) , an problematical , long - live species that live on in the inscrutable water of the Arctic and North Atlantic .
An animal autopsy of the stranded Greenland shark discovered in Cornwall, England last month has revealed that the shark had meningitis.
" During the post - mortem examination , the mental capacity did look slightly discolour and engorged and the fluid around the Einstein was nebulose , levy the possibility of infection , " James Barnett , a pathologist with Cornwall Marine Pathology Team , a part of the U.K. Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme ( CSIP ) and ZSL , articulate in the statement .
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A microscopic exam of the Greenland shark ’s mental capacity fluid revealedPasteurella , a species ofbacteria . " This may well have been the cause of the meningitis , " Barnett say .
This is the first reported disease-related death in a Greenland shark.
The Greenland shark was likely about 100 years honest-to-god when it expire . This may sound old , but it ’s quite vernal for a Greenland shark , make this individual a juvenile female . While it ’s unknown how long these sharks can last , they can make it to at least 272 years of eld , a 2016 study published in the journalSciencefound .
The deceased shark , which measured 13 feet ( 4 meters ) long and count 628 pounds ( 285 kilograms ) , stranded near Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall , in southwestern England , on March 13 , but the tide sail the animal ’s consistency back out to ocean , Live Science previously describe . A recreational boating company recover the shark ’s torso on March 15 , making it the U.K. ’s 2d recorded Greenland shark stranding to date .
The meningitis witness during the necropsy , or animal autopsy , in all likelihood explain why the shark had venture out of its natural deep - water habitat and eventually stranded , according to the affirmation .
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The shark ’s body was damaged , and there were sign of hemorrhage within the cushy tissue around the thoracic fins , which , coupled with the silt found in its tum , suggested the shark was still alive when it washed ashore , Barnett say . " As far as we ’re aware , this is one of the first post - mortem examinations here in the U.K. of a Greenland shark and the first invoice of meningitis in this species , " Barnett said .
The shark ’s death give " brainstorm into the life and last of a species we know little about , " Rob Deaville , CSIP labor lead , said in the statement . " Ultimately , like most marine life story , thick sea species such as Greenland sharks may also be impacted by human pressure on the ocean , but there is not enough grounds at this stage to make any connections . "
The team plans to publish a research study on the shark ’s postmortem account .
Originally published on Live Science .
