First Documented Attack on a Live Human by a Cookiecutter Shark (Squaliformes, Dalatiidae: Isistius sp.)

Abstract

An adult long-distance swimmer attempting to cross the 'Alenuihähä Channel between the Hawaiian islands of Hawai'i and Maui was twice bitten by a cookiecutter shark (Squaliformes, Dalatiidae, Isistius sp.). One of these bites presented as an open, round, concave wound typically observed in cookiecutter shark bites inflicted by members of this genus on a broad spectrum of large b iota such as marine mammals, elasmobranchs, and bony fishes. The open wound was debrided, subjected to negative pressure wound therapy, and a split thickness skin graft harvested from the left thigh. Postoperative recovery was complicated by delayed healing of the inferior portion of the graft, and cultures and biopsy were normal skin flora and normal tissue, respectively. At 6 months after the incident, the area appeared to be healing with a stable eschar, and by 9 months the wound was healed. Humans entering pelagic waters at twilight and nighttime hours in areas of Isistius sp. occurrence should do so knowing that cookiecutter sharks are a potential danger, particularly during periods of strong moonlight, in areas of man-made illumination, or in the presence of bioluminescent o rganisms.

New evidence of predation on humans by cookiecutter sharks in Kauai, Hawaii

“…This specimen from the Natural History Museum in Paris, France was used to b experimentally reconstruct a bitemark in plasticine. c The lesion analysed in the present case from Kauai, in Hawaii, shares some macroscopic similarities with d a superficial C-shaped lesion on the thorax of a male diver off to Maui, also in Hawaii, reported by Honebrink et al [ 20 ]. The outline of the bitemark was reconstructed after Honebrink et al (2001) …”

“…Precisely, the length of the major axis of the lesion fits well within the known range (1–10 cm) for bitemarks caused by Isistius spp. (the so-called cookiecutter sharks), two cigar-shaped species of dwarf sharks: I. brasiliensis (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824) and Isistius plutodus (Garrick and Springer, 1964) [ 9 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 26 , 33 ]. Five cookiecutter bitemarks with a diameter of 3 cm were reported on a corpse recovered off O’ahu, Hawaii [ 26 ].…”

Extensive unusual lesions on a large number of immersed human victims found to be from cookiecutter sharks (Isistius spp.): an examination of the Yemenia plane crash

“…Whilst depth measurements were not possible from the photos of lesions used in this study, the majority (52.9 %) of lesion substrates are consistent with a moderate depth, a feature reported in the literature on cookiecutter bites on both animals and humans (1.5 to 4 cm deep) [33, 34, 38, 40]. Isistius spp.…”

“…Eighty-seven percent of the lesions identified here ( n  = 487) was encompassed within the known range for the major axis of cookiecutter bite marks: 1 to 10 cm [34, 36, 53]. Whilst depth measurements were not possible from the photos of lesions used in this study, the majority (52.9 %) of lesion substrates are consistent with a moderate depth, a feature reported in the literature on cookiecutter bites on both animals and humans (1.5 to 4 cm deep) [33, 34, 38, 40].…”

A new Western North Atlantic Ocean kitefin shark (Squaliformes: Dalatiidae) from the Gulf of Mexico

“…Dalatiid sharks of the genus Isistius (cookiecutter sharks) employ a unique feeding behavior, the details of which are not fully understood. They excise an oval flesh plug (Strasburg 1963;Shirai & Nakaya 1992) from a variety of prey including marine mammals, sharks, tunas, billfishes, squids, and infrequently, humans (Jones 1971;Dwyer & Visser 2011;Gallo-Reynoso et al 2005;Papastamatiou et al 2010;Hoyos-Padilla et al 2013;Honebrink et al 2011;Ribéreau-Gayon et al 2017;Ribéreau-Gayon et al 2018;Grace et al 2018). Here we describe a new species of dalatiid shark of the genus Mollisquama based on a single specimen captured from the Gulf of Mexico (Figs.…”