There are many well-known sharks, such as the hammerhead and great white sharks, but there are other fascinating creatures lurking in the deep oceans that anxiously awaited to be discovered. One such creature – Hydrolagus trolli, dubbed the “ghost shark”, has been recently filmed for the first time in its natural environment.
The fish looks much like a shark, but it technically isn’t, according to National Geographic. The extremely rare “ghost shark” was recently filmed in its natural environment, by a team of geologists working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California, on accident.
Using a remotely operated vehicle at a depth of 6,700 feet, footage uploaded to the Internet went viral, causing National Geographic to contact the team leader, Dave Ebert, of the Pacific Shark Research Center, to inquire about the species it had filmed.
Although the research team believes that they have captured footage of the very rare Hydrolagus trolli, it can’t be officially confirmed until a specimen has been captured and its DNA analyzed.
Interesting to note that if findings confirm that it is not Hydrolagus trolli, its possible that a whole new species has been discovered.
Source – MBARI
