American scientists from Florida International University have discovered a new species of hammerhead shark. They named it Sphyrna alleni in honor of billionaire Bill Gates' friend and business partner, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The study was published in the scientific journal Zootaxa.
According to the authors of the discovery, the existence of the new species of hammerhead shark remained unknown for a long time, since it is very similar to the related species Sphyrna tiburo.
It turned out that Sphyrna alleni are widespread in the waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Belize to the coast of Brazil.
Scientists have noted that the open-water species of hammerhead sharks are likely to be endangered because the fish suffer from overfishing using gillnets.
The researchers named Sphyrna alleni after Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen because of his support for various shark conservation and environmental causes, including the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
Paul Allen himself passed away in 2018 after a long battle with cancer.
