#common thresher

Of course! She deserves it

You get a Common Thresher Shark

Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), Common thresher (Alopias vulpinus), Shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), Porbeagle (Lamna nasus), Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus)

Fishes of the World. Written by Hans Hvass. Illustrated by Wilhelm Eigener. Originally published in 1964.

🦈 Thresher Shark 🦈

Common thresher!

Well.. I survived the first non-cetacean of this commission! Yesterday I painted one of my favourite sharks (lucky they’re part of the species list): the common thresher shark. Threshers have an incredible tail, with the upper lobe as long as the whole rest of their body. They use it as a whip to knock fish out cold before eating them. They also have quite incredible colours: purplish on top and azure blue on the sides, divided by a copper line. But once dead, they quickly lose all colour and turn grey.

Residents in Turkey are marvelling at the sight of a shark that was caught with a HUMAN FACE - that they believe even has medicinal qualities.

The odd fish was caught by fishermen off the coast of Mersin in the south of the country and it has already attracted plenty of attention after it was given pride of place on a counter in the city's fish market.

Traders and customers took selfies with the common thresher - even giving it a pair of spectacles to accentuate its markings which look like two eyes, a nose and a mouth.

Odd: The common thresher shark has a human face underneath (CEN)

Celebrity: Locals are lining up to take selfies with the fish (CEN)

And the rare shark is now being served up to customers with serious diseases.

Mersin Fishermen's Association President Faruk Polat said: "We call it the human face fish as it has eyes, nose and lips that resemble a human’s.

“It was first seen in India where people reacted in a different manner.

"Another characteristic of this shark is that it is good for diabetes. It regulates the blood sugar level. It’s a thing that is scientifically proven.

Four eyes: Glasses were placed on the shark to emphasise its human features (CEN)

Health benefits: The shark is being sold to diabetes sufferers (CEN)

"For this reason we freeze it and give it to our customers with diabetes and we also give it for free to cancer patients.”

He added: "Our priority is to give it to diabetes patients. The best part is that it is useful to those in need.

“If it really helps those people, we will be more than happy."