Ghost Shark: Scientists find a rare baby of this type

Rare baby specimen ghost shark It was found by scientists off the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The little creature was found just days ago at a depth of 1.2 kilometers on the ocean floor.

According to researchers at the country’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, the semi-transparent abdomen of the animal contains a large amount of egg yolk, which indicates that it was fed recently.

(Source: Brett Vinucci / Niwa)

Embryos of this species spend their early stages of development in egg capsules. The female lays it at the bottom of the sea. As long as they are not ready to hatch, they are fed by eating the yolk.

The team of scientists told the press that the animal was found by chance when they were in the area conducting trawl surveys, with the aim of analyzing the size and behavior of hockey fish populations there.

Capsules where the ghost shark evolves. (Source: Brett Vinucci / Niwa)

According to a fisheries scientist, Dr. Brit Finucci, the team member who found Newborn ghost shark, she has already had the opportunity to find other specimens of the species in her work. But this case caught his attention because of its size and remained a few days.

What are ghost sharks?

Ghost sharks are creatures similar to the most famous species of sharks and rays, the main difference being that they are cartilaginous creatures, and therefore have a strange and ethereal appearance, as if they were animals from another planet.

(Source: Brett Vinucci / Niwa)

His diet consists mainly of Worms and mollusks that live at the bottom of the oceans. In adults, they can reach 2 meters in length, and they can be found all over the world. However, it rarely appears in coastal areas with shallow water.

According to the doctor. Finucci, in an interview with BBC NewsNext, the next steps will include research with genetic and tissue samples from the animal so that researchers can do just that Understand species better.

(Source: Brett Vinucci / Niwa)

According to the expert, it is believed that ghost sharks They diverged from traditional sharks about 400 million years ago, and today they belong to a class called chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish), which includes other types of sharks, sawfish, and rays.