New Zealand scientists discover ghostly 'spookfish'

Mooney Goes Wild contributer Terry Flanagan shares his latest round of nature news.

New Zealand scientists have discovered a new species of "ghost shark" - a rare type of fish that is incredibly hard to spot because it lives at great depths in the Pacific Ocean.

The Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish was found living in the deep waters of Australia and New Zealand, according to scientists from Wellington-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Also known as a spookfish, ghost sharks are closely related to sharks and rays. They do not have scales and their skeletons are made completely of cartilage. The ghost sharks have haunting black eyes and smooth, light brown, scale-free skin. They feed off crustaceans at depths of up to 2,600 metres using their distinctive beak-like mouth and they are largely confined to the ocean floor."

We need your consent to load this Instagram contentWe use Instagram to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences

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

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.

Ghost sharks are related to sharks and rays, but are part of a group of fish whose skeletons are entirely made of cartilage.

"Their habitat makes them hard to study and monitor, meaning we don't know a lot about their biology or threat status, but it makes discoveries like this even more exciting," Dr. Finucci said

Dr Finucci said the species stood out for its unusually long snout, which can make up half its body length. She has given the new fish a scientific name with a personal twist: Harriota avia.

"Avia means grandmother in Latin, I wanted to give this nod to her because she proudly supported me through my career as a scientist," Dr Finucci explained.