A remarkable photograph of the live birth of a thresher shark has cast light on the lives of these elusive, vulnerable fish.
The image, taken during a research dive in 2013 and now published in the journal Coral Reefs, is believed to be the first record of a birth in this species.
Lead researcher Dr Simon Oliver from the University of Chester said that this was also "the first record of any oceanic species giving birth".
He added that seeing the image was one of the most exciting moments in his career.
Dr Simon Thorrold, a senior scientist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, US, described the photograph, which has now been published in the journal Coral Reefs, as "amazing".
"I have never seen a comparable image for any other pelagic shark," he told BBC News. "It may well be, or at least the first time that the event has been photographed, but this is always difficult to say definitively."
He added, though, that he thought the image was of "limited importance" in terms of shark conservation.
PHOTO: The image is believed to be the first photograph taken of an oceanic shark giving birth.
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