Feb 18, 2022 17:00:00

Find alien-looking 'ghost shark' babies

by Brit Finucci

A baby with big eyes and a

slimy milky body was found at a depth of about 1200m off New Zealand. The discovery of this juvenile fish, known as the 'Australian Haunting Shark' in Japan, is a very rare event.

“Very rare find” of ghost shark hatchling | NIWA
https://niwa.co.nz/news/%E2%80%9Cvery-rare-find%E2%80%9D-of-ghost-shark-hatchling

Rare, alien-like baby'ghost shark' discovered off New Zealand coast | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/ghost-shark-hatchling-new-zealand

Like sharks, ghost sharks belong to the ' cartilaginous fishes ' whose skeleton is composed of cartilage instead of bone. As the name of the elephant shark, some species have an organ called the snout (funtan) like the nose of an elephant, and it is thought that this organ senses electromagnetic waves and minute movements of water.

This is the ghost shark juvenile discovered this time. It is thought that it has just hatched because the yolk was clinging to the body.

by Brit Finucci

By the way, this is a kind of ghost shark egg. Ghost sharks grow in eggs laid on the seabed and ingest the yolk until they hatch.

by Brit Finucci

This discovery was made by accident while investigating the common fish hoki in New Zealand. 'I'm very surprised that juveniles are rarely found. Further testing and genetic analysis are needed to determine the exact species,' the researchers said.