A researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast came across a leopard shark “threesome” while snorkelling.
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The trio of sharks in New Caledonia have made marine science history after they were recorded mating.
Dr Hugo Lassauce said he “spotted a female with two males grasping her pectoral fins on the sand below me”.
“I thought: ‘Something is going to happen – I’m staying right here with my GoPros.’ An hour later, it finally happened.”
The menage a trois was “over in minutes”, said Lassauce. The first male took 63 seconds. The second was done in 47 seconds.
“Then the males lost all their energy and lay immobile on the bottom while the female swam away actively,” Lassauce said.
It is the first time the globally endangered species has been documented in a mating sequence, providing valuable knowledge to aid conservation efforts.
