05/06/2026
I love the idea that the “Age of Discovery” isn’t just some dusty chapter in a history book—it’s happening right now, sometimes in the most unexpected, tiny ways.
Case in point: the American Pocket Shark (Mollisquama mississippiensis).
It’s this crazy little critter, only about five and a half inches long, that was recently identified in the Gulf of Mexico. This shark can fit in the palm of your hand. And it has these specialized glands near its fins that secrete a bioluminescent fluid—meaning this shark literally glows in the dark.
What really blows my mind is the timeline. This little guy was collected back in 2010, but it took nearly a decade of patient, rigorous study to formally describe it as a brand-new species in 2019. This is pretty typical in taxonomy, and all the more reason how important it is to support these researchers and their discoveries 🌀
