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Demon catshark species identified thanks to weird mystery eggs

Forty years ago, a strange, empty shark egg case was found off the coast of Western Australia, and scientists have finally determined the species it belongs to

By Jake Buehler

5 May 2023

Unlike all but one of its close relatives, the new demon catshark has bright white eyes

CSIRO Australian National Fish Collection

Researchers have described a species of shark new to science, a native of the waters off north-western Australia, all thanks to a set of mysterious, furrowed eggs.

The findings are the culmination of a story that began in 1983 in Rowley Shoals, Western Australia. That August, researchers collected several strange, empty shark egg cases from about 450 metres down. In 1989, researchers found another egg case with an embryo inside it. The cases sported tightly …

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