Scientists said on Tuesday that they had discovered the world's first hybrid sharks in Australian waters, a potential sign the predators were adapting to cope with climate change.

The mating of the local Australian black-tip shark with its global counterpart, the common black-tip, was an unprecedented discovery with implications for the entire shark world, said lead researcher Jess Morgan.

"It's very surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before, this is not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination," Morgan, from the University of Queensland, said.

"This is evolution in action."

Source.

Cool, eh? Funny how those hybrids are able to successfully procreate too.

That's an interesting find, thanks Mazille! I have been obsessed with sharks since I was about 5!


Edit: Lots of silly language in that report though:

It means the Australian black-tip could be adapting to ensure its survival as sea temperatures change because of global warming.

The sharks have had a sit down lunch, worked through the problems, and decided that this is their best survival strategy to deal with sea temperature changes.

"If it hybridizes with the common species it can effectively shift its range further south into cooler waters, so the effect of this hybridizing is a range expansion," Morgan said.

"What we need to do" said the Australian Black-tip representative, "is shift our range into cooler waters."
The Common Black-tip representative nodded sagely and agreed with the proposal, after all they were distantly related, and family's family.
"So how do you plan to do that?"
"Well, we were thinking of... you know... getting down!"
The Common black tip choked on his tea and spluttered "I think we can err manage that!"

"It's enabled a species restricted to the tropics to move into temperate waters."

Not that the fractional changes in water temperatures have permitted the Australian black tip to move into a range traditionally only used by the Common black tip, and therefore interbreeding has ensued?

Anyway, my guess is that this is just an artifact of previously poor identification through comparative anatomy which has suddenly been exposed by the more rigorous genetic inquiry and they've been getting down for a goodly time.

"RUN! RUN BEFORE THEY LEARN HOW TO FLY!"
Makes it sound as if the hybrid was between a shark and a bird or bat (very surprising), rather than between two closely related species of shark (not very surprising)!