'Very Rare Baby Ghost Shark' Found Off New Zealand Goes Viral

The deepwater ghost shark was found at a depth of about 1,200 metres (about 3,900 feet) under water in the Chatham Rise area off of New Zealand's South Island.

The discovery of a newly-hatched rare baby ghost shark by a team of scientists off the coast of New Zealand's South Island has caught the attention of netizens and researchers worldwide.

Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are not real sharks but cartilaginous fish who have been called ghost sharks for their eerie appearance and are rarely spotted, especially newly-hatched ones.

Calling it a "very rare and exciting find", Dr Brit Finucci, a fisheries scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), said that this discovery was made accidentally while they were conducting a trawl survey of underwater populations.

"From better-studied chimaera species, we know that juveniles and adults can have different dietary and habitat requirements. Juveniles also look dissimilar to adults, having distinctive colour patterns", Dr Finucci said.

"Finding this ghost shark will help us better understand the biology and ecology of this mysterious group of deepwater fish", she added

Ghost shark discovered in New Zealand

© Photo : Twitter/@niwa_nz

Astonished by its discovery, the scientists believe that the ghost shark was recently hatched.

"You can tell this ghost shark recently hatched because it has a full belly of egg yolk. It's quite astonishing. Most deepwater ghost sharks are known adult specimens; neonates are infrequently reported so we know very little about them", Dr Finucci said.

The researchers will be carrying out tests and genetic analyses to determine the exact species.