A Frozen Shark Washed Ashore On A Beach In Cape Cod

In the midst of the Northeast's record-breaking low temperatures this past weekend, a dead, half frozen shark showed up on a Cape Cod beach. On her icy winter excursion, local photographer Amie Medeiros wrote, "Definitely not what I was expecting to encounter." In the midst of a terrible cold snap that brought the Massachusetts peninsula's temperatures below zero on Friday and Saturday, Medeiros obtained photographs of the shark covered in ice on Saturday.

The shark was photographed with its mouth open and showing off its razor-sharp teeth after washing up on Cold Storage Beach in Dennis, Massachusetts.

While the shark's death might appear to have been caused by the cold, an injury to its right side might suggest something else.

According to a tweet by marine researcher John Chisholm from the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, the shark is thought to be a male porbeagle. Porbeagle sharks can reach a length of 12 feet and a mass of 300 to 500 pounds.

He thinks the shark is the same one that washed up on another Cape beach a week earlier, emerged, and froze as a result of the subfreezing weather.

The porbeagle has warm blood, unlike several shark species, which enables it to survive in chilly environments like the North Atlantic.

The marine biologist discovered that the shark's tail, dorsal fin, pectoral fin, and teeth had been removed when he returned to the shore on Monday to measure it.