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A JUVENILE WALKING SHARK (HEMISCYLLIUM MICHAELI) FOUND IN MILNE BAY, PAPUA NEW GUINEA. (© CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/ MARK ERDMANN)
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A type of shark that has long captivated scientists and divers for its preferred mode of underwater travel — walking — just got even more interesting. Researchers have found that walking sharks are collectively the “youngest” — as in, the most recently evolved — sharks to ever walk (or swim) the planet. Conservation News spoke with one of the authors of a new study on walking sharks, Conservation International’s Mark Erdmann, to find out how he and his team uncovered the evolutionary origin of walking sharks — and how this information could help us adapt to climate change. 

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