The Meg was not the only warm-blooded shark

TCD scientists have discovered that other sharks, including the smalltooth sand tiger shark which washed up in Ireland this year, may also have warm blood

Dr Nicholas Payne and Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi with the smalltooth sand tiger shark that washed up in Co. Wexford earlier this year. Pictures: Dr Jenny Bortoluzzi and Kevin Purves

We are used to hearing of sharks as cold-blooded killers but researchers here have made some surprising discoveries — there may be more warm-blooded sharks than science thought. And these cousins of the infamous megalodon shark may be in real trouble due to warming seas.

Some of the most famous sharks, such as the white shark or the extinct megalodon, are unusual as they are among the ~1% of shark species considered to be warm-blooded or 'regional endotherms'.