Latest news with #parasiticworm
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare discovery found inside shark hooked off Aussie coast
Using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharpnose shark, researchers from CQUniversity identified a 'rare' parasitic worm, previously unknown to science, inside its gills. Video transcript A surprising discovery has been made inside the body of a shark hooked at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharp-nosed shark, researchers from CQ University identified a rare parasitic worm, previously unknown to science inside its gills. Lead researcher Doctor David Vaughan explained the new species, Loimus everingami is the first of its kind to be described in Oceania. The parasite needs the shark to survive, and the species doesn't cause any harm to its host as long as numbers stay low. The worm lives in the shark's gills for its adult life, feeding on skin and mucus.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare discovery inside shark hooked off Australian coast: 'First of its kind'
A surprising discovery has been made inside the body of an apex predator hooked at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Using a microscope to examine the dead Australian sharpnose shark, researchers from CQUniversity identified a 'rare' parasitic worm, previously unknown to science, discovered inside its gills. Lead researcher Dr David Vaughan explained the new species (loimos everinghami) is the "first of its kind" to be described in Oceania, a vast geographical area that includes Australia, New Zealand and numerous islands in the Pacific. There are only six loimos species known in the world, and he'd been searching for evidence of them in the region for two decades. The last to be discovered was in Brazil in 1972. 'Finding this one was wonderful. I was beginning to wonder if they existed at all,' he said. What do the parasitic worms eat? Australian sharpnose sharks are not considered dangerous to humans and will generally only strike if provoked. The shark with the worm in its gills was collected from Queensland's Capricorn Coast after it was discovered dead on a drumline, a shark control device used by the state government. It is not believed that the parasite was directly responsible for the shark's death. Loimos everinghami needs the sharks to survive, and the species doesn't cause any harm to its host as long as numbers stay low. The worm lives in the gills for its adult life, feeding on skin and mucus. 🐳 50-year-old discovery in Aussie museum sparks surprising whale theory ⛵️ Tourists 'totally outraged' by fishing crew's confronting act at sea 🥺 Late-night beach find highlights dark side of Aussie state's $88 million tourism pledge Vaughan said the discovery will create 'significant global interest' in the world of parasitic shark worm enthusiasts. But the discovery will have a wider impact on our understanding of shark health. Although Australian sharpnose sharks are abundant, globally shark and ray numbers have declined by 70 per cent since 1970, mostly due to overfishing. 'Sharks are apex predators on the reef, and so many food webs involve sharks. An understanding of these obligate relationships provides us with greater knowledge for conservation,' Vaughan said. 'The discovery of new species adds to our known biodiversity, which is our shared Australian heritage.' The research has been published by Cambridge University Press in the Journal of Helminthology. Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment? 🐊🦘😳 Get our new newsletter showcasing the week's best stories.
ABC News
16-07-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Parasitic worm, first of its kind, found on shark off central Queensland beach
It's not a discovery that many people would be delighted to make — a new, rare type of parasitic worm. But for researchers in central Queensland, the recent find is a special one decades in the making. The new species of parasitic worm, known as Loimos everinghami was found on the gills of the Australian sharpnose shark in waters off central Queensland in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Lead researcher on the project, CQ University's David Vaughan, said the worm was one of only six Loimos species. "It comes more than 50 years since the last Loimos species discovery in Brazil in 1972," Dr Vaughan said. "It's a very special little worm indeed … it's found nowhere else in the world. "These particular parasites, they are very host specific … You won't find them on anything else." Dr Vaughan said parasites had evolved over time to specifically live only on this type of shark, feeding on skin and mucus in the gills. In normal numbers, it does not cause any significant health problems for the shark. The parasite was found on the body of a deceased shark, collected from a drumline off Lammemoor Beach in Yeppoon in September 2024. Dr Vaughan said, looking at the parasite under a microscope, he initially did not believe what he had found. "I actually first thought it was something else because I was expecting to find a different group of parasites altogether," he said. But on closer inspection of the parasites, which are only 2 millimetres long, he realised how significant the find was. "I was beginning to wonder if they even existed." Dr Vaughan explained that the parasites, though small, were important to the ecosystem. "They work like miniature predators in a way; they help to regulate a healthy population of their hosts," he said. "They're connected throughout the food web, so they can provide a lot of positive information." The discovery has been published in the peer-reviewed, academic Journal of Helminthology. As for where to next, Dr Vaughan said the team would keep searching for more species. "[It will help us] conserve not only the shark species, but the things that are associated with them as well," he said.
