New Shark Species Is Still a Shark | The Institute for Creation Research

New Shark Species Is Still a Shark
by Frank Sherwin, DSc. and Jeff Tomkins, Ph.D.

Australian and American zoologists discovered a new species of shark.1 Carcharhinus obsolerus was discovered off the coast of South East Asia but has not been found anywhere in the past eight decades. Based on the morphology of the find’s teeth and fins, researchers have concluded it’s a new species of shark, but “is under intense fishing pressure.”
 
Creationists maintain that although new species of plant or animal are constantly discovered, many can be placed within the created kinds that God described in Genesis 1. Sharks are an excellent example. Although today’s oceans are teeming with many unique types of shark—and even more so in the pre-Flood world—they remain sharks.2 Evolutionist Michael Benton states that sharks of the genus Cladoselache are basal, i.e., some of the first sharks to have evolved. Yet, these sharks are “surprisingly modern looking.”3 But creationists are not surprised, however. Sharks were created on Day 5 of the creation week and many died and were preserved as fossils during the Genesis Flood just thousands of years ago.

Sharks were created on Day 5 of the creation week & many died and were preserved as fossils during the Genesis Flood just thousands of years ago. Tweet: Sharks were created on Day 5 of the creation week & many died and were preserved as fossils during the Genesis Flood just thousands of years ago.

New Shark Species Is Still a Shark: https://www.icr.org/article/new-shark-species-is-still-a-shark/

@ICRscience

#Science #Research

When new species of sharks are discovered today, they represent the product of the diversification of the various shark kinds that survived the global flood. While creatures can and do diversify (or “speciate”) within their kind—because they were designed to do so—they never evolve into fundamentally new creatures as evolutionists claim. We don’t observe sharks evolving into other kinds of sea creatures today nor do we see any evidence of a shark transitioning into another type of creature in the fossil record. Sharks appear suddenly in the earth’s oceans and remain sharks.
 
References
1. White. W. T. et al. Lost before found: A new species of whaler shark Carcharhinus obsolerus from the Western Central Pacific known only from historic records. Plos One. Posted on journals.plos.org January 2, 2019, accessed January 8, 2019.
2. Sherwin, F. 2013. Shark Origins: An Evolutionary Explanation. Acts & Facts. 42 (12): 16.
3. Benton, M. 2015. Vertebrate Paleontology. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 173.
 
*Mr. Sherwin is Research Associate is at ICR and earned his master’s in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Jeffrey Tomkins is Director of Life Sciences at the Institute for Creation Research and earned his Ph.D. in genetics from Clemson University.

The Latest
NEWS
Quietly ''Devolving'' Tomatoes?
Apparently, evolution (and natural selection) can do almost anything: If new forms appear, the credit goes to creative natural selection; if old...

CREATION PODCAST
Five Unforgettable Lessons Learned from the Scopes Trial | The...
The Scopes Trial is one of the most famous court cases in American history, and this year marks its one hundredth anniversary....

NEWS
Yet Another Revised Age for the Land-Animal Ancestor
An allegedly vital piece of animal evolution was first discovered in 1984 in Scotland. Conventional scientists suggested the fossil of Westlothiana...

NEWS
Dr. James S. Johnson Goes Home to the Lord
Dr. James S. Johnson, chief academic officer and associate professor of apologetics for ICR’s School of Biblical Apologetics (SOBA), joined his...

NEWS
Pluto’s Largest Moon Looks Young
When the New Horizons space probe captured images of Pluto and its large moon Charon as it flew by in 2015, conventional scientists were surprised by...

NEWS
55-Million-Year-Old Tree Frog…Is Still a Tree Frog
In the 1990s, Australian paleontologists discovered fossil frog bones during a dig in Murgon, Queensland.1 This new species of frog—Litoria...

NEWS
Pastor and Longtime ICR Supporter Dr. John MacArthur Now with...
Faithful ICR supporter and pastor Dr. John MacArthur went home to be with the Lord on Monday, July 14, 2025, completing his 86-year pilgrimage.1...

CREATION PODCAST
Setting Sights on Scopes: The Truth Behind the Infamous Monkey...
The Scopes Trial is one of the most famous court cases in American history, and this year marks its one hundredth anniversary. Often,...

NEWS
Did Earthworms Rewrite Their DNA to Survive on Land?
An earthworm news story was recently posted that openly questions Darwin’s gradual and slow evolutionary progress in the living world.1...

NEWS
Mysterious Erosion Confirms High Flood Boundary
Two separate research reports arrived at a similar conclusion.1,2 Both found an episode of mysterious erosion had occurred near the end of...