Sydney, Australia, Sep 24 (EFE).- A group of researchers discovered a new species of chimera, or ghost shark, a cartilaginous fish related to sharks and rays that lives in the deep sea, more than 1,000 kilometers off the eastern coast of New Zealand, scientists announced Tuesday.
Previously it was believed that this Australasian narrow-snouted ghost shark, whose scientific name is Harriotta avia, was part of a single species that inhabits the entire planet, according to a statement from the country’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
But the description of this new species of fish – which lives exclusively in the waters of Australia and New Zealand – revealed that it is genetically and morphologically different from its cousins, the statement added.
Harriotta avia, which lives in the depths of the oceans of Australia and New Zealand, is unique for its elongated, narrow and depressed snout, its long and thin trunk, large eyes, as well as its very long and wide pectoral fins.
It is also characterized by its smooth, scaleless skin, and beak-like teeth that allow it to feed on crustaceans such as shrimp and mollusks, the statement said.
Specimens of this species were found in Chatham Rise, a vast remote area that extends more than 1,000 kilometers east of New Zealand during the institute’s fisheries investigation.
“Ghost sharks like this one are largely confined to the ocean floor, living in depths of up to 2,600m. Their habitat makes them hard to study and monitor, meaning we don’t know a lot about their biology or threat status, but it makes discoveries like this even more exciting,” said Brit Finucci, the institute’s fisheries scientist who described the new species.
Chimaeras, whose name comes from Greek mythology and refers to a monster with a body that included other animals, can grow to two meters in length and are characterized by a protruding head, a venomous spine and a long, rat-like tail.
Also known as rat sharks, rabbitfish or elephant fish, chimeras form, along with sharks and rays, the group of cartilaginous fish that separated from those that have maintained a bony skeleton, such as salmon and tuna during the Paleozoic era. EFE
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