A motorist passing at the intersection of Yorktown and Black Top roads at One Tree Hill, north-east of Adelaide, was completely dumbfounded when he noticed a strange creature on the roadside puddle.
According to the report of Daily Mail, the shark which was believed to be a Port Jackson Shark, was 20 kilometers away from the nearest body of water. The South Australian police said a member of Fauna Rescue SA quickly arrived to rescue the shark after being informed about it.
According to their official report, while the shark was still alive when found, it later died even after submerging it in a water container. How the shark appeared in a strange location is still a mystery. But officials said it might have been dumped by its previous owner after realizing it is already too big for its usual tank.
Port Jackson Shark or Heterodontus portusjacksoni is the largest of the Heterodontid sharks and is native to Australia. The males average between 80 to 90 cm and the females 100 to 110 cm. But the largest can grow up to 167 cm.
Australian Museum said it can be distinguished easily because of the color pattern of their body. It has black harness-like markings which cross the eyes, goes from the back to the first dorsal fin, then cross the side of the body. It also has a unique blunt head and has a spine in front of both dorsal fins. They somehow have an alien-like appearance because of their weird mouth and horns on top of their eyes.
Accounts from various researchers, the Port Jackson Shark usually lives at the bottom of a rocky environment (330 ft or 100 m). A nocturnal hunter, its diet consists of sea urchins, mollusks, crustaceans and fishes. They are often referred to as "oyster crushers" because their teeth, unlike most sharks, deliberately function as a grinder of the shells, Sharksider notes.