Most people have heard about Great White Sharks and Mako Sharks among the other top deep sea predators, but recently a group of American scientists discovered what appears to be the mysterious point-nosed ghost shark for the first time.
The odd-looking fish sports a retractable sex organ on its head, National Geographic reported, and was spotted some 2,000 meters (6,700 feet) under the surface of the ocean.
The sighting happened off the coast of Hawaii and Florida while the researchers were on a task from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, also known as MBARI.
The pictures are stunning and video was also taken.
If you’ve never seen a shark like this before, buckle up because things are about to get weird.
The Mysterious Ghost Shark is Spotted for the First Time
As pictures of the hauntingly beautiful animal show, this is not your grandfather’s favorite shark.
The ghost shark looks alien to this planet, but it is in fact real as the pictures below demonstrate.
It is technically known as a chimaera, although it looks exactly like the most unexpected shark like creature you have ever seen.
The fish had previously only been found in the Southern Hemisphere.
It appears to have stitches on its face that are often referred to as “channels,” giving it a “rag doll” type of appearance, looking like something out of the Nightmare Before Christmas movie.
Researchers were floored by the discovery since it didn’t resemble any of the earlier known species in the area.
They reached out to chimaera expert Dr. David A. Ebert, program director at the Pacific Shark Research Center, for his thoughts on the video.
After analyzing it, it was determined by Ebert that the creature is a point-nosed blue chimaera or Hydrolagus trolli, which is typically found near Australia and New Zealand.
This is the first time it was filmed in its natural habitat, as it took between 2009 and 2016 to confirm its identity.
This sighting was especially noteworthy because experts typically need to track down the sharks somewhere near the bottom of the ocean, as is usually the case with so-called “lost shark” species.
This time around, the shark found them.
Some of the other “lost shark” species include the spookfish, ratfish, rabbitfish and other similar species, but many of them remain an enigma to scientists because of how elusive they are and how little they have been studied.
While you won’t be likely to find these sharks in a zoo or aquarium any time soon, the good news is that they are out there and they are incredible.
Sometimes, a little bit of wonder like this is exactly what we need to remember how incredible this planet truly is, and why it is worthy of our protection and support.
Share this with any shark lovers you know!
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