A brand new species of ghost shark, with an unusually lengthy nostril and a whip-like tail, has been found within the inky depths of New Zealand waters.
Scientists at New Zealand’s Nationwide Institute for Water and Atmospherics (Niwa) initially believed the creature was a part of an present species discovered world wide, however additional investigation revealed it was new, genetically distinct, species.
The newly described Australasian narrow-nosed spookfish is barely present in New Zealand and Australian waters.
Ghost sharks – also called chimaeras and spookfish – are a gaggle of cartilaginous fish intently associated to sharks and rays. They’ve clean pores and skin, beak-like tooth and feed off crustaceans comparable to shrimp and molluscs. They’re generally known as the ocean’s butterflies for the best way they glide by means of the water with their massive pectoral fins.
The mysterious fish are usually discovered at nice ocean depths – as much as 2,600 metres – and little is understood about their biology or the threats they face.
“Ghost sharks are extremely under-studied, there’s a lot we don’t find out about them,” stated Dr Brit Finucci, a fisheries scientist at Niwa who helped uncover the brand new species.
“Chimaeras are fairly cryptic in nature – they are often onerous to search out within the deep ocean … they usually typically don’t get the identical consideration sharks do, on the subject of analysis.”
The brand new ghost shark was discovered within the Chathams Rise, roughly 750km east of New Zealand’s coast. It’s distinctive for its very elongated snout that may make up half of its total physique size and has probably developed to help its hunt for prey. The chocolate-brown fish can develop as much as a metre lengthy, has massive milky-coloured eyes and a serrated dorsal fin to discourage predators.
Roughly 55 species of ghost shark have been found globally, with about 12 of these present in New Zealand and South Pacific waters.
Scientists suspected it was a brand new species based mostly off of its morphology – the way it appears to be like – however additional genetic analysis was wanted to verify the speculation. Discovering that it was certainly a definite species was an thrilling second for Finucci.
“It’s actually neat to have the ability to contribute to science,” she stated. “Understanding the animal itself can feed into additional analysis and whether or not they want conservation administration.”
In a touching homage to her grandmother, Finucci gave the ghost shark the scientific identify Harriotta avia: Harriotta being her grandmother’s identify, and avia which means grandmother in Latin.
“I additionally preferred the concept that … sharks and ghost sharks are the outdated, historic, family members of fish, and I used to be naming the animal after an historic relative of mine.”
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