
The bonnethead, the world's first omnivorous shark - AnatMl2
https://www.cnet.com/news/meet-the-bonnethead-the-worlds-first-omnivorous-shark/
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fao_
The title, in the context of hacker news, makes it sound like a new product
announcement.

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krylon
There was a bit about a ferocious sea weed-eating shark on one Simpsons
episode. Funny how these things turn out... :)

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modernerd
“…but none attacks its prey with more fury than the seaweed shark”

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgybr7BWY-w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgybr7BWY-w)

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pvaldes
The really interesting joke here is from SpongeBob: Sea-weed composition = 50%
Sea, 50% weed

Sharks seeming to be able to digest some celulose from seagrasses is not
enough to classify them as omnivores, (cats eat grass sometimes but are still
hypercarnivores) but is very strange in a fish, because fishes are notoriously
bad using sugars. They use fat as main source of energy. Cats have similar
problems and will be normally uninterested in sugar.

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wavefunction
Humans can't digest cellulose. We call it instead dietary fiber, and it's
important for our health. Not sure if this shark is actually directly
digesting the cellulose or relying on gut bacteria like ungulates. This shark
possibly notwithstanding, I don't believe there are any vertebrates than can
directly digesting cellulose

Regularly consuming plant material for nutrition seems like enough of a bar to
render the shark an omnivore.

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pvaldes
> Regularly consuming plant material for nutrition seems like enough of a bar
> to render the shark an omnivore.

Not if forced artificially to do so. Keeping its health after consuming plant
material would be a necessary step.

There is a reason for giving a shark a diet composed in a 90% of plants and is
the same for having vegan dog food. Is a lot cheaper. As animal protein is
expensive, we are in a rush for feeding captive carnivores as many plant
protein as possible without killing them. You need to tag the animal as "but
is an omnivore so this is fine" first.

I had keep a lot of fishes and know when a fish is starving or not having
enough food. They turn like tadpoles: big head in a small skinny body. The
fish shown in the photo has this symptoms. Either is a very young fish or is
sacrifying its own muscle just to survive.

