Scientists in New Zealand have announced that they have discovered a new species of “ghost shark” – a type of fish that roams the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and hunts prey at depths of more than a mile.
According to scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Wellington, the Australian narrownose ghost shark has been discovered living in the deep waters of Australia and New Zealand.
The specimens were discovered during research in the Chatham Reef region, an area in the Pacific Ocean that stretches about 1,000 km east near New Zealand’s South Island.
Ghost sharks, or chimaeras, are related to sharks and rays but are part of a group of fish whose skeletons are made entirely of cartilage.
Also known as ghost fish, ghost sharks have ghostly black eyes and smooth, light brown skin without scales.
They feed on crustaceans at depths of up to 2,600 meters using their distinctive beak-like mouth.
“Ghost sharks like this are largely restricted to the ocean floor,” says researcher Brit Finucci.
Finucci gave the new species the scientific name “Harriotta avia” in memory of her grandmother.
“Their habitat makes them difficult to study and observe, which means we don’t know much about their biology or threat status, but that makes discoveries like this all the more exciting.”
Until now, the ghost fish was thought to be part of a globally distributed species until scientists discovered that it differed genetically and morphologically from its cousins. | BGNES
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