The fish with beak-like mouth, now named Harriotta avia, prowls completely in deep waters of Australia and New Zealand.
Scientists in New Zealand have found a brand new species of “ghost shark”.
The Wellington-based Nationwide Institute of Water and Atmospheric Analysis (NIWA) stated on Tuesday that the Australasian Slim-nosed spookfish lives completely within the deep waters round Australia and New Zealand.
The fish, which prowls the ocean flooring looking prey greater than 2.6km (1.6 miles) down, has been named after the grandmother of one of many analysis group.
Also referred to as “ghost sharks” or “chimaeras”, spookfish are associated to sharks and rays however are a part of a bunch of fish whose skeletons are completely made from cartilage. Different names for the mysterious animals embody ratfish, rabbitfish and elephant fish.
Ghost sharks have haunting black eyes and clean, gentle brown, scale-free pores and skin.
They feed off crustaceans at depths of as much as 2,600 metres (8,530 toes) utilizing their distinctive beak-like mouth.
“Ghost sharks like this one are largely confined to the ocean flooring,” stated analysis scientist Brit Finucci.
The specimens had been found throughout analysis within the Chatham Rise, an space of the Pacific which stretches about 1,000km (621 miles) east of New Zealand’s South Island.
‘Grandmas and grandpas of fish’
Finucci has given the brand new species its scientific title “Harriotta avia” in reminiscence of her grandmother.
“Avia means grandmother in Latin. I needed to provide this nod to her as a result of she proudly supported me by way of my profession as a scientist. Chimaeras are additionally somewhat historical family – the grandmas and grandpas – of fish and I assumed the title was nicely suited,” she stated.
“Their habitat makes them laborious to check and monitor, which means we don’t know loads about their biology or risk standing, nevertheless it makes discoveries like this much more thrilling.”
The spookfish was beforehand considered a part of a single globally distributed species till scientists found it’s genetically and morphologically totally different from its cousins.
“Harriotta avia is exclusive resulting from its elongated, slender and depressed snout; lengthy, slender trunk; massive eyes; and really lengthy, broad pectoral fins. It’s a beautiful chocolate brown color,” Finucci stated.