Researchers have discovered a new species of “ghost shark” that lives only in the deep seas around Australia and New Zealand.
The Australian narrow-nosed spookfish, as its name suggests, has a long, pointed snout. Black eyes bulging outAccording to New Zealand’s National Water and Atmospheric Research Institute, the creature has “chocolate-coloured” skin and a long, thin tail.
Officially known as the silver shark, the shark has smooth skin and no scales, has “distinctive beak-like teeth” and feeds mainly on shrimp and mollusks, according to NIWA.
The species lives in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean, and NIWA scientist Britt Finucci said: Studying is difficultA kingfisher shark was caught on camera swimming off the coast of California in 2017. The specimen used by NIWA to identify it was discovered during other research by New Zealand’s Ministry of Fisheries.
Garden
“Their habitat makes them difficult to study and monitor, and little is known about their ecology and threat status, which makes discoveries like this all the more exciting,” Finucci said.
The discovered specimen was thought to be part of a species found worldwide, but the study revealed that the Australian narrownose spookfish is “genetically and morphologically distinct from its close relatives”, NIWA said.
Finucci named the species “Harriotta avia” in honour of his grandmother.
“Avia means grandmother in Latin, and I wanted to pay tribute to her, as she proudly supported my scientific career,” Finucci said. “The chimaera is a fairly ancient relative of fish, so it’s our grandma and grandpa, so the name seemed perfect.”