Scientists have discovered a new species of ghost shark that lives in deep ocean waters, near the Australia and of the New Zealand .
The Australasian narrow-nosed scarecrowfish, named Harriotta flies was found on Chatham Rise, an area of ocean floor off the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island, by researchers from New Zealand’s National Institute of Aquatic and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
Previously, scientists believed the species was part of a single class distributed globally, however, they have now discovered genetic and morphological differences, according to a statement issued on Tuesday (24).
A deep-sea animal, the ghost shark is scientifically known as chimera and is closely related to sharks and rays.
They are cartilaginous fish — with skeletons composed primarily of cartilage — and embryos that grow in egg capsules deposited on the seabed and feed on the egg yolk until they hatch.
After this process, they feed on crustaceans, such as shrimp and mollusks, according to NIWA.
“Harriotta flies “It is unique due to its elongated, narrow, and depressed snout; long, thin trunk; large eyes; and very long, wide pectoral fins. It is a beautiful chocolate brown color,” Brit Finucci, a fisheries scientist at NIWA, said in the statement.
“Ghost sharks like this one are largely confined to the deep ocean, living at depths of up to 2,600 meters. 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,” he added.
Finucci also said he named the new species after his grandmother. “Avia means grandmother in Latin; I wanted to pay tribute to her because she proudly supported me in my career as a scientist.”
“Chimaeras are also very ancient relatives — the grandmothers and grandfathers — of fish, and I thought the name was quite appropriate,” he continued.
In February 2022, Finucci was part of a team that discovered a newborn ghost shark that they said could add to their knowledge of the “mysterious” creature.
The animal was found at a depth of about 1,200 meters in the Chatham Rise. “We don’t really know much about ghost sharks,” he told CNN at the time.
“What we know comes mainly from adult specimens. So it’s very rare and very unusual to find juveniles of many of these species, so that’s why I was quite excited,” he concluded.
*With information from CNN’s Jeevan Ravindran
This content was originally published in New species of ghost shark discovered by New Zealand scientists on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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