The incredibly rare pocket shark, or Mollisquamas parini, has only ever been discovered twice, with one specimen discovered off the coast of Peru in 1979 and the second off the coast of Louisiana in 2010. With so little to go on, very little is known of the pocket shark or its namesake "pocket" area above its pectoral fin--and the only specimen in a lab is too delicate to manhandle too much. Thanks to 3D scanning and printing technology, scientists are now able to get a good look at this rare and elusive tiny shark, with a replica created of the 5.5"-long young male specimen found in 2010 based on 18 hours of scans that produced 22,000 cross-sectional images to study and a 3D printed model that scientists can hold. Read more about this elusive bit of marine life in the full article: http://3dprint.com/71859/3d-printed-pocket-shark/


Below is a look at the real pocket shark specimen: