New Ghost Shark Species Discovered in the Deep Pacific Ocean

Ghost shark embryos develop in egg capsules that lie on the seafloor until ready to hatch.

AFP reported on September 24 that scientists in New Zealand have discovered a new species of ghost shark. This is a fish that often hunts at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean at a depth of more than 1,600 meters.

The Australasian narrow-nosed ghostfish is found in deep waters off Australia and New Zealand, according to scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) based in Wellington, New Zealand.

The specimens were discovered during research in Chatham, an area in the Pacific Ocean that stretches about 1,000 kilometers east, near New Zealand's south island.

Ghost sharks (chimaeras) are related to sharks and rays, but belong to a group of fish with skeletons made entirely of cartilage. Ghost sharks have ghostly black eyes and smooth, light brown skin without scales. They feed on crustaceans at depths of up to 2,600 m with a special mouth.

“Ghost sharks like this mostly live on the ocean floor,” according to NIWA researcher Brit Finucci.

The expert named the new species Harriotta avia in memory of his grandmother.

“Their habitat makes them difficult to study and monitor, meaning we don’t know much about their biology or threat status, but that makes discoveries like this all the more exciting,” said Finucci.

It was previously thought that the ghost fish was a single species distributed globally, before scientists discovered that there were genetically and morphologically distinct species.

Rare scene: Shark swallowed whole at the bottom of the deep sea

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-loai-ca-map-ma-moi-tai-vung-bien-sau-thai-binh-duong-185240924114011671.htm