#southern-sleeper-shark

#southern-sleeper-shark

Longnose spurdog sharks, locally known as kalb al-bahr, are sold on Libyan fish markets. Fishermen catch them even though they are carrying eggs, driven by economic necessity.

"Not only are acts like that illegal, but it's really harming a very important, like, a biodiversity hotspot that we have right out here," Brent Fish, an aquarist with Birch Aquarium, stated.

In February 2023, an article in the Mexican press announced the capture of a vessel some 195 nautical miles from the port of Lazaro Cardenas in the state of Michoacan. It had been carrying nearly 700 pounds of cocaine packaged in plastic-wrapped bricks, in addition to 1,650 liters of hydrocarbons in 33 plastic containers. Two Ecuadorian fishermen were among the five detainees, and their immigration records showed unusual activity.

The animals do, however, have neuronsnerve cells that appear interconnected throughout their body. And now a new study shows that how these animals sleep is surprisingly similar to humans, suggesting that sleep may have evolved before even the most primitive brains. The findings, published on Tuesday in Nature Communications, also help answer one of science's prevailing mysteries: Why do animals sleep?

Neither jellyfish nor sea anemones have brains. But these animals sleep in ways strikingly similar to humans, according to a study published today in Nature Communications. The findings bolster a theory that sleep evolved, at least in part, to protect the DNA in individual nerve cells, helping to repair damage that builds up while animals are awake.