A shark washed up on a Libyan beach earlier with a blade in its back. It is said to have died due to a swordfish's rostrum. A resident had spotted the lifeless shark at the end of the beach near the town of Brega. An 11.8-inch blade was found inside the shark. While the incident happened earlier, a new study found out the mammal died due to the penetrating trauma of the sword, researchers write in the journal Icthyological Research. According to scientists and citizens who saw the shark, the swordfish measured about six feet long and attacked the shark three days before it washed ashore. Swordfish are predatory fish known to attack sharks. The recent incident only shows how dangerous they can be. First Ever Albino All-White Shark Caught off Britain, See Pictures and Video.

The scene was uncovered by citizen scientists in April. Images of the incident showed a 1ft length of the swordfish blade, known as a rostrum inside the shark. The attacking swordfish could have been about 3m long. While it could have been an accident, it may also be the swordfish’s way of trying to scare the shark away from the meal. Rare Two-Headed Baby Shark Caught by Fisherman in Palghar, Pictures of First Such Sighting in Maharashtra Go Viral.

Dead Shark Washed Up Libyan Beach:

They wrote that while swordfish were "not uncommon", they did not understand the scene well. They wrote, "We hypothesise based on the results presented here (similar size and ecology of both species, the direction of trauma infliction) that competition could be a driving force for swordfish attacks on sharks or other possible competitors."

The team believes the shark was injured at or near the vertebral column branchial apparatus causing damage in the nerve, artery and gill arches. The study further reads, "However, due to the fact that the protagonists are pelagic species and lethal interactions may usually remain undetected, more data is needed to unambiguously support this interpretation and we, therefore, encourage future studies on stranded sharks to conduct necroscopies and thoroughly search for evidence of swordfish interactions."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 03, 2020 10:42 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).