Scientists have discovered a new species of "ghost shark". Photo

Scientists from New Zealand have discovered a new species of "ghost shark". This is a type of fish that swims at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

According to scientists from Wellington's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), the creepy, narrow-nosed fish was found in the deep waters of Australia and New Zealand. Ghost sharks, or chimeras, are related to sharks and rays, but belong to a group of fish whose skeletons are composed entirely of cartilage, ScienceAlert writes.

Samples of the new species were discovered during research in the Chatham Rise, an area of the Pacific Ocean that stretches about 1000 kilometers east of New Zealand's South Island.

According to study co-author Britt Finucci, ghost sharks mostly live on the ocean floor, diving to depths of up to 2,600 meters in search of prey. They typically hunt crustaceans using their beak-like mouths.

Finucci gave the new species the scientific name "Harriotta avia" in memory of her grandmother.

The authors of the study note that ghost sharks, like other ghost fish, have frightening black eyes, and their skin is light brown and completely devoid of scales.

At first, the researchers assumed that the found ghost fish belonged to a single globally distributed species. However, the scientists found that it is genetically and morphologically different from similar marine ghostfish.

"The deep-sea habitat of these fish makes it difficult to study and monitor them, as we don't know much about their biology or threat status. But that makes discoveries like this all the more exciting," said Britt Finucci.

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