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Scientists in New Zealand have discovered a newborn ghost shark.
The ghost shark was found at a depth of about 1,200 meters in Chatham Rise, area on the east coast of the island.
The very rare discovery was made during a recent survey, the National Water and Atmospheric Research Institute said in a press release Tuesday, according to CNN.
The ghost shark is scientifically known as chimaera and with other names like my fish, scary fish and rabbit fish.
They are cartilaginous fish, which have skeletons composed mainly of cartilage and their embryos grow in egg capsules placed on the sea floor and feed on the egg yolk until they hatch.
“You can tell this ghost shark came out recently because it has an egg yolk belly.” said in a press release Brit Finucci, a scientist who was part of the team that made the discovery.
“It’s very surprising. “We have seen most deep-water ghost sharks as adults, and newborns are rarely reported, so we know very little about them.”she added.
The exact type of ghost shark the team discovered is not yet known, and Finucci said further tests and genetic analysis would be needed.
The age of the shark makes it a particularly rare find and this will aid in scientific knowledge on small ghost sharks.
Finucci says other chimaera species indicate that juveniles may have different dietary and habitat requirements, unlike adults.
“Juveniles also look different from adults, having distinct color patterns,” she said of other chimaera species.
“Finding this ghost shark will help us better understand the biology and ecology of this mysterious group of deep-sea fish.”
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