This story was making the rounds in 2008. It is re-posted here in 2024 because it is still interesting due to a misconception, so to speak. Was a shark found with webbed feet in Malaysia?
In Malaysia, a baby shark with webbed feet was discovered by Mary Looi, a worker at the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM), in Batu Maung, Penang. This unusual find occurred when she received the 1.7 kg shark from a fisherman. Upon inspecting the fish for cooking, she noticed the two webbed feet protruding from its lower body, which was a first for her in her ten years of experience at LKIM[1][2].
The incident sparked curiosity and discussions about the shark’s anatomy, as the webbed feet resembled limbs but were not functional in the same way as those of terrestrial animals. This anomaly raised questions about genetic mutations or developmental issues in marine life[3].
Has anyone ever seen a baby shark with webbed feet? A worker of the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board (LKIM) in Batu Maung, Penang, made this unusual find when she was given the 1.7kg fish by a fisherman at the jetty recently.
Mary Looi, 48, said she only realised the shark was different when she wanted to cook tomyam fish for lunch for her family. “It was only when I was about to cut the shark the day after I received it that I found two webbed feet sticking out from the lower part of the body.
“The shark is one-metre long,” she said. Looi said she dared not cook the fish after consulting her husband Gooi Man Kaw, 57, who told her that according to Chinese belief, eating fish with unusual features could bring disaster or ill luck.
“Immediately, I returned the fish to the fisherman that night at about 10pm “He threw it back into the sea,” said Looi.
Looi, who has been working at LKIM for 10 years, said this was the first time she had stumbled upon such an unusual find. When contacted, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Muka Head marine research station head Prof Dr Zulfigar Yasin said this is the first time he had heard of fish with legs found in the Malaysian waters.
“There is a possibility that the fish could have swum from other waters into Malaysian waters. “As far as I am concerned, fish species with legs or bony fins can only be discovered in the waters of North Sulawesi in Indonesia or South Africa,” he said. – uwt
Uh… no. Those are not legs or feet. They are the myxopterygia of an adult reef shark. Male sharks have two claspers used for mating.
Understanding Myxopterygia
The structures observed on the shark were not webbed feet or legs but rather myxopterygia, specifically the claspers of a male shark. Claspers are elongated, rod-like structures that male sharks use for mating, to transfer reproductive cells to the female. They are an integral part of the reproductive anatomy in many shark species, particularly in elasmobranchs (the group that includes sharks and rays).
The initial assumption that the shark had webbed feet underscores the need for accurate biological education. Claspers play a crucial role in shark reproduction, and recognizing their function helps clarify misunderstandings about marine life. By promoting accurate knowledge, we can enhance public interest in marine biology and support conservation initiatives effectively.
Read More
[1] https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2007/03/14/shark-with-webbed-feet
[2] https://www.faizalr.com/2007/08/shark-with-webbed-feet.html
[3] https://forum.calgarypuck.com/archive/index.php
[4] https://www.3reef.com/threads/land-shark-shark-with-webbed-feet-found.75686/
61 comments
Thats amazing!.. people talk about evolution as something that happened.. when actually it is happening right under our noses….
That’s not evolution, that’s a birth defect just like you.
Evolution starts out as a birth defect.
Josh is right because some “defects” are benefits. There are modern examples in humans: super strength, super memory, etc.
Well really photoshop can do amazing things. . .
Look at the edges of the shark. . . more so on the top side.
Chris…comon, look at the overall compostion, secondly why fake it. Nothing to gain, we all know the world is screwed anyway. If thats photoshop then its poor work. I would be inclined to think it’s a poor a photo.
umm…. they are not feet >>myxopterygia of an adult reef shark…… it had an errection
That’s not feet, photo shop can make this look real. What to gain by faking it, I’ll tell you. Millions of people believe the lie of satan that we evolved from this. Satan has everything to gain and so do the people who are trying to denounce creation. Even if it’s real, it is very sad what’s in our water?
how about we all just go look at some porn instead of arguing about mythical things that dont exist… and the shark.
You are absolutely blind if you think evolution is not real. Have you not noticed the flu completely changing every year? Or maybe you’ve never heard of insects that develop immunities to insecticides within a few years (which is many generations to them)? Exactly what do you think that is? No doubt, you think Satan is manipulating DNA to turn humanity away from Creationism. Let me ask you this, then: If Satan can do things like that, why not just manipulate human DNA to make us completely docile and only respondent to “evil” stimuli? Get your head out of your rear. At least have a rational rationale if you’re going to argue beyond your IQ.
Sam,
You are giving us Creationists ammunition when you say,
“Have you not noticed the flu completely changing every year? Or maybe you‚Äôve never heard of insects that develop immunities to insecticides within a few years (which is many generations to them)”
LOOSE of information (the dying off of susceptible organisms) only leaves those with defenses ALREADY encoded in their particular DNA. That is Natural Selection which is the mechanism for animals to change through WEEDING OUT of information not ADDING TO IT.
That is known as Micro-Evolution which all respectable Creationists understand causes changes but NOT improvement or Macro-Evolution which is creating a entirely new creature.
Sorry – “Lose” of information…
I think you mean “loss”.
New information is added constantly to DNA of living organisms. I believe we are both swarming with new genetic information, right this minute.
A mutation is a change in the sequence of DNA base pairs. New information is added by every mutation.
The human rate of DNA mutations is one base substitution in every 15 to 30 million nucleotides per generation. link. If I understand that correctly, at minimum, for every 30 million nucleotides you have, you will have one new bit of genetic information ADDED to your DNA by a mutation in your lifetime.
You have 100 trillion cells in your body, each with 3,165 million nucleotides (double that… since you have two copies of your genome per cell), that works out to 211 mutations per cell in your body in your lifetime. Cells with mutations are usually recognized and they get programmed to die off and get replaced, however, so the number of mutations that survive in you is much less than the 21,100 trillion ( 21,100,000,000,000,000 ) that happen over your lifetime. If you live to be the average male in the USA (75.6 year) that will work out over your 27,612 days of life, to be 764,160,510,000 mutations per day, and given that there are 86400 seconds per day, that’s 8.8 million mutations per second! But most of these are repaired or discarded by your body.
“It has been estimated that in humans and other mammals, uncorrected errors (= mutations) occur at the rate of about 1 in every 50 million (5 x 10^7) nucleotides added to the chain. … But with 6 x 10^9 base pairs in a human cell, that mean(s) … each new cell contains some 120 new mutations.” – link
What matters to evolution are mutations that get passed on.
How many mutations are to be expected in your 50 million sperm cells per impregnation attempt? Answer: About 80 million bits of “new information” per ejaculation. Of course, only one sperm gets lucky. What are the odds of that on sperm cell having a mutation? For “humans, the number of cell divisions prior to sperm formation in a male of age 30 is about 400. This works out to about 1.6 mutations per sperm cell.” – link
According to one source, “Given what we know about errors in DNA replication, we estimate that every human infant carries 130 new mutations”. Another source says the “average child [has] around 277 mutational differences from his or her parents”.
Most mutations that make it into each new person are neutral, some are negative and once in a while you get something really useful or interesting. Good or bad, this new information is real, and it is yours for life.
I believe you have a misconception that DNA code is purposeful. There is no difference between a random mutation that happens now and the ones that happened a 600 million years ago in the first simple animals that eventually became us.
Keep in mind that a few choice mutations can result in some dramatic effects. Look at the black couple who had a white baby, for example.
If testing shows no white ancestors in her past, it would be some of Nmachi Ihegboro’s roughly 130 mutations that resulted in her observable racial differences.
If Nmachi has children in Woolwich, southeastern London, she will likely pass her unique genes on to her children.
What you call “Macro evolution” is the result of what you call “micro evolution” over time.
Want proof? It is all around us, in the similarities and the differences between and among species.
Just look at a human blastula. It is in absolutely no way identifiable as human! Yet you once looked *exactly* like that…a tiny ball of cells… no head, no arms, no legs, no lungs, no heart, no brain… in YOUR lifetime.
Grouping life by what it looks like in the adult stage without looking at genetics and molecular biology is where we were a few hundred years ago. We have moved far beyond that in our understanding.
And PS: I have no idea if the shark “with feet” is real and am not in any way attempting to defend its legitimacy.
” it’s sad whats in our waters ” are you saying that a creation is sad!!! Your a sad person. If this little guy was really a freak, i’ld be so happy to meet him. And I agree with the guy that said he is a reef shark with a hard-on… And to Sam! Your an amazingly smart person.. And if if you bring up Satan, why not the all powerful creator, the one who created Satan…. ! He is the one who maniuplates DNA ( if that is the way you believe ) Satan only influences us, because we have a “free will”. The creation part is only God!!! And BTW, take a good look at the ever so decreasing number of Duck-Billed Platypus. Umm!! Makes you think!
Yes, it is sad what is in our water. Pollution, deadly sonar, and an increasing lack of biodiversity.
it is quite obvious that those aren’t feet they are the sharks clasper’s. Meaning that they are the sharks penis!!
Ok not feet, not a birth defect but a dick!!
maybe penises are a birth defect,… haha
Ummm…. If that/those are its dick(s) why do they have fins?
There is much variety in the animal kingdom. I do not know if this is normal for this kind of shark, but they are in the same place as the claspers on all other male sharks. Here is a different shark’s claspers. Rather than fins, perhaps the webbed spines at the ends are part of the process somehow. Any shark experts out there?
I have a degree in Sharkology and i can confirm that the limbs in question are much too small to be what you are suggesting. I believe these are its hands which are used for clenching on to seaweed in undercurrents while the shark sleeps. A shark cannot sleep in still water or it will drown as water will drip under its gills and asphyxiate the poor mammal.
The well known but extinct bird known as the dodo evolved from the shark in these very seas.
Maybe sharks are trying to evolve back into something that humans destroyed.
Something like that will teach us all a lesson.
u r a [insult deleted] first of all the biological science of sharks isnt sharkology and second of all those are the claspers and are are just slightly deformed
He was joking >.>
I love how you both spelled “Detector” wrong in your names.
‘I have a degree in Sharkology and i can confirm that the limbs in question are much too small to be what you are suggesting. I believe these are its hands which are used for clenching on to seaweed in undercurrents while the shark sleeps. A shark cannot sleep in still water or it will drown as water will drip under its gills and asphyxiate the poor mammal.
The well known but extinct bird known as the dodo evolved from the shark in these very seas.
Maybe sharks are trying to evolve back into something that humans destroyed.
Something like that will teach us all a lesson.’
This man is a fake. With 14 years experience as a Selachologist, i can confirm this poster is unaware that sharks aren’t mammals never mind have a basic concept of the jargon involved in marine biology.
Certain sub-species of the adult reef shark have been known to latch onto prey with using these ‘claspers’ to form a symbiotic relationship with the creature of choice, usually larger sharks. The creature exchanges protein in exchanged for the other creatures ‘song’ a vocoded form of call produced by the symbiot creature, as it initially suffers from the protein exchange, an example of this may be found here -> http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wDqyuYFAZSk
pics of the parrots feet?
re: Dr Jinx, are you trying to tell me that sharks carry a vocoder around like dizzy d? wtf???
you sir are insane. I would like to see where you got your medical papers.
ps can of coke?
Mexy,
Rest assured, sonar photography has advanced to the stage where we can spot sharks hooked up with the talkbox, emitting ‘digital love’ as the sychophantic reef shark pumps protein into it like a rugby player with creatine. I’m far from insane, my papers themselves certify that, i once had a brief fling with Richard Dawkins. Perhaps you should disconnect that potato attached to your head with sellotape and you might be able to see clearer. oh pics of feet wrapped round a ca of coke would be excellent. Fap fap fap
WB
Will evolution make my hair a non [crap] colour?
This shark is not compton
those ARE my feet, and I’d prefer if you didn’t take pictures. fap fap fap
Why is noone concerned about this poor women’s lack of ear?
And Sellotaped potatoe?
Becuase her ear is just a clasper that holds on to the potato so that it doesnt fall off her beautiful head.
ok, whoever posted comment #8 seriously neds to consider the way they thinkk. This is a very unique specimen and needed to be commented as such. What is wrong with that person. Get a life and maybe a science textbook
Hello Mr Apes,
If the lord of your creation is so great, what did he himself have to gain from creating people who are satanists and creation denouncers. I may be unbelieving to the certain Great Being you have invested your intelligence(or the lack of one) in, but surely you must be insulting him with your statement, what with the creation theory and people who are against creation being “created”.
Please think before you speak.
~One with a Mind
Dear IHawk,
i’m sorry that you seem to have such a problem with god. he doesnt have anything 2 gain from allowing sin in to the world, it is a punishment for us as humans disobeying his 1 command, “but of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil, thou shalt not partake of it. for lest you shall surely die.” we disobeyed him, and now we live in sin, and have no hope, except by believing that Jesus Christ, his one and only son died on the cross for us. to forgive us of our sins, and allow us eternity in glory. if you dont want that, and would rather spend ETERNITY(i.e. not 100 years, not 100000years, but FOREVER) then be my guest, satan will be thankful for the company. “But as for ME, and MY house, WE shall follow the Lord” the sharks either 1. a freak, 2. a hoax, or 3.its the stupid sharks freaking dick clampers. now shut up, and go try to prove evolution.
There is nothing to prove. We have observed new species forming and the fossil record is very clear, evolution is an observed fact:
To Mr. Apes, I hawk and I seem to agree on this subject. And may I just say, that it is exactly your kind of overly obsessive “religionistic” type of people who are polluting the world with your filithy idea. You ideas and knwledge certainly don’t have limits, and therefore stop being a f-inh hermit and flush out your idiotic ideas. Oh and one more thing, just for fun, satan is after you. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH…lmao…well anyway, it is a nice specimen, they outta try to find its bone compound.
Forget the sharks claspers – get yours out!
It looks a bit fishy to me.
Has anyone considered that this is a photoshopped fake?
I have a similar picture of a giant goose footprint in the snow.
Ta Ta for now.
G K
I went to a shark museum with my dad and they had all sorts of sharks. One was a baby shark in thid little tank and you could pet it and everything, it was so cool….=)
Why not feet? Doesnt matter if you believe in Evolution or Creation, we know that these things happen, people & animals with two heads,extra limbs and other unusual features. Whats so hard to believe. You can believe evolution just happens over millions of years or that God created evolution as a sort of cruise control for the earth, but you can not discount evolution all together, we know it happens. Most animals, including humans have latent genes and features we no longer use i.e. humans have tail bones, an apendix, full body hair ect. Aquatic mammals have leg bones, finger/feet bones ect. still inside of them, Why? Evolution not Satan. Any half intellegent person nows evolution happens, OK, maybe God created evolution so he would not need to spend all of his time changing his creations so they can adapt to changes on earth ect. but you have to admit that evolution still happens naturally or by the helping hand of God. Comes down to the chicken or the egg –
Creationists have to say the chicken came first because God created it as is –
Evolutionists would have to say the egg came first and the creature inside was changed a little bit from its parents and bread the new change into existense over time, so at some point an egg was laid that you could say had what we call a chicken inside of it.
name me 1 thing that proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that evolution is real. Adaptation is NOT evolution. adaptation, is simple that adapting!evolution is CHANGING from one thing, into an entirely different thing(i.e. a whale to a cat, or a rat to a bat)during the milions of years that it apparently takes, the animal would be useless. take the rat into the bat. the front paws bones lengthen to make wings right? guess what, those claws are now useless! cant run from predators,cant hunt, cant fly, cant climb, its a dead end in the gene pool. tailbones of humans? hmmm sure seem to protect certain parts dont it? allows u to sit quite compfortably. and DNA stuff, its gotta be there for some reason. dont get me wrong “mutations” happen, cant deny it, but how the hell are the majority of them helpful. i have yet to see a siamese twin flying an airplane, or a mentally retarded person running a CNC Machine.
Evolution is an observed fact.
You could start your biology education here. Here is proof: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-speciation.html
A toad does not turn into a cat. But they both have a common ancestor.
The majority of mutations are not helpful. But some are.
I understand what you are asking, but you have to realize that the environment is constantly changing. More acid in the air can lead to mutations that change lung shape, then more predators can lead to mutations being passed on that make an animal able to hold its breath under water longer… at the time, each of these thing IS useful, and over time, big changes happen, and eventually, you get a whale!
The common human blind spot is our inability to understand how incredibly long a billion years really is. Heck, we don’t even understand, viscerally, the idea of 1,000 years because no one in recorded history has ever lived even 200 years.
Look at how much technology has evolved in a short time. Everything around us is evolving. But just like water creating the Grand Canyon, big changes take a long time.
Here is some real proof of evolution that everyone can understand:
Did you pop out of your mother fully grown and wearing clothes? No. You evolved from an unrecognizable single cell (like how life started on earth!) into a person. When you were one cell, you had no arms. No legs. No brain. No lungs. No heart. No eyes. No liver. You had no body parts at all, man! You looked like THIS. As a single cell, you were able to do something you could not do right now, make new specialized cell types which in turn grew into fresh new organs.
That Selachimorpha has a duality of reproductive appendages.
josh is right
This is the real deal people! I was actually doing some research and came across a larger relative of the shark pictured. Here’s a photo just to help dispel any doubts.
http://i.pbase.com/g4/03/552503/2/59998841.86930017.jpg
these photos are biiiiig lie
with the ocean being so vast we can expect more suprises the further we delve
Any thing can happen…. look around…. observe….
This is only one example of saying: “THERE IS NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE TO GOD”
It’s up to you to believe it or not?
Be a believer…. or an atheist…. ITS YOUR CHOICE….
For me, i must say this, IT’S A DIVERSION OF GOD’S STRATEGIC PLAN OF UNVEILING SCIENCE MYSTERY TO MANKIND.
OMG thats amazing
I hate to spoil this… but those are it’s malformed genitals.
Not feet.
Good day.
well in my religion they dont say evolution is possible i am a wiccan but that is a real picture i believe you know look at it it wasnt doctured by anything
I hate sharks, all kind of sharks. And if sharks have feet and will start walking on land i will commit suicide. I don’t want the sharks coming up to us even if it doesn’t happen until 1000000 years from now. [screw] ALL THE SHARKS! even the nice one’s
is it for real? i’m not believe something like that exist.. until i see it with my own eyes..
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Please sharks are some of the most amazing creatures on this planet! To say you “HATE THEM” IS JUST STUPID
THAt fish looks tighjt and look
Those arnt feet that would be its penises u fail
I love tiny sharks but they are still dangeris and I got bit by a tiny baby tiger shark they hurt but it did not get a chunk only like 1/10 of a bite thats small. I’m only 8