New 'ghost shark' discovered in New Zealand waters

The elusive deep-sea fish, closely related to sharks and rays, is incredibly hard to spot or study.

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Also known as a spookfish or chimera, ghost sharks are closely related to sharks and rays. They do not have scales and their skeletons are made completely of cartilage.

Dr Brit Finucci, one of the scientists who discovered the Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish, said the find was "exciting".

"Their habitat makes them hard to study and monitor, meaning we don't know a lot about their biology or threat status," she said.

Dr Finucci and other researchers from New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) found the creature in an area of ocean floor known as Chatham Rise, which lies to the east of New Zealand.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c89lgy9njxwo

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