Never-before-seen ‘ghost shark’ found hunting in deep ocean darkness
A NEW species of chimera has been discovered off the coast of Thailand.
The creature, called Chimaera supapae, has a huge head, gigantic eyes and feather-like fins.
Chimeras, also called “ghost sharks,” are a type of cartilaginous fish related to sharks and rays.
Cartilaginous fish are among the oldest fish alive today. Living Science noted.
The newly described species is a type of short-nosed chimera, researchers explained.
Scientists documented this discovery in an article published March 6 in the journal Raffles Bulletin of Zoology.
The paper notes that ghost sharks live in the dark waters of the deep sea, where sunlight does not reach.
Specifically, they are found at depths below 1,640 feet around the continental slopes and ocean ridges.
The fish species tend to feed on bottom-dwelling animals such as crustaceans and molluscs, according to LiveScience.
Chimaera supapae can grow up to 50 centimeters in length, with long, broad pectoral fins.
Scientists believe the fins help the creature move across the seabed.
Perhaps most interesting is where the species was discovered: off the Andaman coast of Thailand.
It is important to note that the fish was found dead as part of a deep-sea research project conducted in 2018.
“Chimeras are rare in this region of the world,” David Ebertlead author of the study and program director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at San Jose State University in California, told LiveScience in an email.
“There were only 53 known species of chimeras in the world; these are 54,” Ebert said.
The discovery of Chimaera supapae is exciting for scientists because it helps us learn more about the diversity of life in the deep sea.
“Evolutionarily, these chimeras are among some of the oldest lineages of fish, with the lineage dating back 300 to 400 million years,” Ebert said.
“The discovery of new species like this chimera tells us how little we know about the marine environment and how much remains to be explored.”