The “ghost shark” — is a mysterious, rarely seen shark with a patchwork of bizarre features. Living in the depths of the ocean, its eyes are pale and seemingly dead. Where teeth should be, the ghost shark uses tooth plates instead to grind food. Their heads are lined with cryptic dots, like the remnant scars of ancient stitches. Male chimaeras have retractable sex organs — on their foreheads. Its other nicknames — ratfish, rabbitfish, spookfish — hint at how bizarre chimaeras are in appearance.
The “ghost shark” — is a mysterious, rarely seen shark with a patchwork of bizarre features. Living in the depths of the ocean, its eyes are pale and seemingly dead. Where teeth should be, the ghost shark uses tooth plates instead to grind food. Their heads are lined with cryptic dots, like the remnant scars of ancient stitches. Male chimaeras have retractable sex organs — on their foreheads. Its other nicknames — ratfish, rabbitfish, spookfish — hint at how bizarre chimaeras are in appearance.
And now, scientists believe they have captured on video a species of ghost shark that had never before been filmed live: the pointy-nosed blue chimaera. The actual video was taken in 2009 but was only recently released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, along with a paper by researcher Lonny Lundsten and his colleagues at the institute.
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