Now playing in the southwestern Pacific Ocean: Sharkcano—an underwater volcano filled with sharks.
Officially, the volcano is Kavachi. It’s named for a fire god of a nearby culture. Its base is about three-quarters of a mile deep.
Kavachi is one of the most active volcanoes on the planet—there’s almost always a little something going on. Its first recorded eruption came in 1939. Since then, it’s erupted at least eight more times, including a long-lasting one from late 2022 into ’23.
Did you see the headlines earlier this year suggesting that a round stingray at a North Carolina aquarium may have become pregnant by one of the male sharks in her tank? As cool as the idea may sound, it is impossible. Sharks and stingrays are somewhat related (about as close as a human is to a mouse), but about 300 million years of evolution separate the species. Genetically, they’re too different to reproduce successfully. But the reality of what probably did happen is just as cool: it’s possible that Charlotte, the solo stingray, cloned herself.
