Here's a fascinating look at the Ghost Shark family, which consists of the dark ghost shark (Hydrolagus novaezealandiae) and the pale ghost shark (Hydrolagus bemisi).
Both of these are shortnose chimaera of the family Chimaeridae, found on the continental shelf around the South Island of New Zealand in depths from 30m to 850m. This shark species are taken almost exclusively as a by-catch of other target trawl fisheries.
Chimaeras live in temperate ocean floors down to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) deep, with few occurring at depths shallower than 200 m (660 ft). Exceptions include the members of the genus Callorhinchus, the rabbit fish and the spotted ratfish, which locally or periodically can be found at relatively shallow depths. Consequently, these are also among the few species from the Chimaera order kept in public aquaria. They have elongated, soft bodies, with a bulky head and a single gill-opening. They grow up to 150 cm (4.9 ft) in length, although this includes the lengthy tail found in some species. In many species, the snout is modified into an elongated sensory organ.
No comments:
Post a Comment