UCI biologist discovers the world’s first known omnivorous shark

UC Irvine

3 min readSep 11, 2018

UCI ecology & evolutionary biology Ph.D. student Samantha Leigh led the groundbreaking investigation

The New York Times

The Omnivorous Sharks That Eat Grass

Trilobites Diminutive bonnethead sharks are the first omnivorous sharks known to science, which could change our…

www.nytimes.com

Newsweek

Vegetarian sharks? The world's first omnivorous sea beasts have been found

The world's first omnivorous sharks have been confirmed by scientists, who say the bonnethead shark is the first and…

www.newsweek.com

Associated Press

Side of seagrass please: Scientists find omnivorous shark

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Ruining the reputation of sharks as bloodthirsty predators, California researchers said they have…

apnews.com

Mashable

Fish are friends, not food: Meet the world's first known omnivorous shark

It's not exactly as vegetarian as Finding Nemo's Bruce, but this grass-eating shark could come close to taking the…

mashable.com

USA Today

The bonnethead is the first known plant-eating shark, scientists say

CLOSE Not every shark has a bloodthirsty urge to eat meat. The first known omnivore shark, one that prefers eating both…

www.usatoday.com

Smithsonian

Fish Are Friends, Not (Always) Food: Meet the World's First Omnivorous Shark Species

smithsonian.com The beloved Pixar film Finding Nemo popularized the image of friendly vegetarian sharks with a catchy…

www.smithsonianmag.com

Daily Mail

Scientists discover the world's first omnivorous shark

The bonnethead or shovelhead shark is a smaller relative of the hammerhead It has been found to digest vast amounts of…

www.dailymail.co.uk

Fox News

'Vegetarian' shark discovery: First omnivorous species of sea predator stuns scientists

Surprised scientists have identified the seagrass-munching bonnethead as the first omnivorous shark species. The shark…

www.foxnews.com

The Guardian

First known omnivorous shark species identified

It is one of the most radical rebrandings in history: contrary to their bloodthirsty image, some sharks are not…

www.theguardian.com

Discover Magazine

These First-Known Omnivore Sharks Eat Seagrass - D-brief

Sharks are infamous meat-eaters. The ocean's buffet of fish, crabs, mussels, shrimp and krill fill the legendary…

blogs.discovermagazine.com

AFP

'Carnivore' sharks have a stomach for greens: study

AFP/File / JOE KLAMAR The bonnethead shark, a small member of the hammerhead family, was long thought to be a strict…

www.afp.com

CNET

Meet the bonnethead, the world's first omnivorous shark

Sharks, we thought we knew you. But it turns out we may have had it all wrong. Thanks to researchers at the University…

www.cnet.com

Science Alert

Scientists Just Identified The First Known Omnivorous Shark Species

Sharks are some of the most notorious meat-eaters on the planet. And for a long time, scientists assumed that the vast…

www.sciencealert.com

Nature

The world's first flexitarian shark grazes like a cow

A member of the hammerhead family munches on seagrass meadows as well as guzzling squid.

www.nature.com

Gizmodo

Scientists Have Discovered the First Known Omnivorous Shark

Sharks are virtually synonymous with carnivorousness, but the bonnethead shark, as new research suggests, is a true…

gizmodo.com

NBC Los Angeles

Researchers Find First Known Omnivorous Shark

Researchers at UC Irvine identified the first omnivorous shark after a four-year study. The bonnethead shark has been…

www.nbclosangeles.com

The Nerdist

Researchers Have Found the World's First Plant-Eating Shark | Nerdist

Thanks to movies from Jaws to The Meg, sharks have been vilified as the ocean's fiercest killers, "perfect eating…

nerdist.com

Inside Edition

The Bonnethead Is the World's First Known Plant-Eating Shark, Researchers Say

The bonnethead is the first known omnivorous shark.

www.insideedition.com

The New York Times: California Report

California Today: Amid Another Blaze, Firefighters Ask for More Funding

California Today Good morning. (Want to get California Today by email? Here's the sign-up .) It's a news alert that…