New research sees basking shark lose 'cold-blooded' tag

Researchers designed a new low-impact tagging method to record body temperature of basking sharks off the coast of Cork. Picture: Irish Basking Shark Group

The mighty basking shark is a one-in-a-thousand exception to the ‘cold-blooded’ shark, after scientists discovered the gentle creatures are physiologically closer to the warm-bodied apex predators of the sea.

With approximately 99.9% of fish and shark classified as cold-blooded, meaning their body tissue generally matches the temperature of water they swim in, a small number of species keep core regions of their bodies warmer than the water.