New Zealand Scientists' "Very Rare And Exciting Find": Baby Ghost Shark
NDTV
Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are not really sharks but are related to sharks since both of their skeletons consist of cartilage rather than bone.
While typically heard in an omnipresent children's song, the phrase baby shark has delighted New Zealand scientists after the rare discovery of a juvenile ghost shark during a survey off the east coast of the country's South Island.
Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are not really sharks but are related to sharks since both of their skeletons consist of cartilage rather than bone.
Not much is known about these marine creatures because they usually reside at depths of up to 6,000 feet (1,829 metres), largely inaccessible to researchers.
"What we do know tends to come from the large adults which are usually a metre, a metre and a half in length, so finding one that actually kind of just sits in the palm of my hand is incredibly uncommon," Brit Finucci, a scientist at New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research told Reuters on Thursday.
