See the dead, frozen shark found on icy Massachusetts beach during polar vortex

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Dead, frozen shark found on icy Massachusetts beach during polar vortex

With its mouth agape, the piercing sharp teeth of a shark were on full display. The shark is a porbeagle, a warm-blooded shark species that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean. John Chisholm, Adjunct Scientist at the New England Aquarium, joined FOX Weather to talk more about the shark. 

DENNIS, Mass. – With its mouth agape, the piercing sharp teeth of a shark were on full display. But what would’ve struck fear instead inspired cautious pity, as the predator lay cold and still on the ice-covered sand.

This was the scene discovered by a local photographer over the weekend, as she strolled along Cold Storage Beach on Cape Cod.

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"Def not what I was expecting to find on my frozen winter adventure," the photographer said on Instagram.

Massachusetts, along with much of the Northeast, was hit by a polar vortex as last week drew to a close, causing temperatures to plummet. In fact, Boston felt the coldest temperature in decades when the thermostat dipped to negative 10 on Saturday morning.

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Low temperatures tracked in the Northeast on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

(  / FOX Weather)

While the cold may seem like the most likely culprit behind the shark’s demise, an injury to its right side may indicate a different cause.

The shark is believed to be a male porbeagle, according to a tweet by John Chisholm, marine biologist and adjunct scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life.

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Unlike many shark species, the porbeagle is warm-blooded, which allows it to live in areas such as the chilly waters of the North Atlantic. According to Oceana, porbeagles prefer cold, temperate waters.