JAKARTA - The famous London River is more exciting than we thought. Seahorses, eels, seals and venomous sharks have all been found in the Thames, according to a "health check".
A survey by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) revealed "positive news" for wildlife, and ecosystem restoration, the agency said last Wednesday.
Citing CNN November 10, the River Thames, which became one of the icons of London, the capital of England, was declared biologically dead in 1957.
But now, surprising creatures, such as sharks including tope, starry smooth-hound and spurdog, a slender fish measuring about 23 inches and covered in venomous spines, are found in this river.
Spurdogs can be found in deep water, with the spines in front of the shark's two dorsal fins secreting a venom that can cause pain and swelling in humans.
Meanwhile, the top shark, which feeds on fish and crustaceans and can reach 6 feet and up to 106 pounds, has never launched an unprovoked attack on humans, according to the UK's Wildlife Trusts.
As for the starry smooth-hound, which can reach up to 4 feet and 25 pounds, it mostly eats crustaceans, clams, and mollusks.
However, the number of fish species found in tidal areas of rivers has shown a slight decline, and conservation scientists have warned that more research is needed to understand why.
The 215-mile-long river, home to more than 115 species of fish and 92 species of birds, faces the threat of pollution and climate change, ZSL warns. Rivers also provide local communities with drinking water, food, livelihoods and protection from coastal flooding.
Climate change has raised Thames temperatures by an average of 0.2⁰C per year, ZSL said, warning this "paints a worrying picture" when combined with rising sea levels.
To note, water levels have been increasing since monitoring began in 1911 in the tidal section of the Thames, rising at some point an average of 0.17 inches per year since 1990.
"As water and sea level temperatures continue to rise above historic baselines, estuarine wildlife will be severely affected, through changes in species cycles and life spans," ZSL warned in a statement.
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