Ghost Shark and Stripy Creature New to Science Discovered in Ocean Depths

A new species of shark has been discovered off the coast of Western Australia. Researchers from Australia's national science agency identified the specimen during a biodiversity survey at the Gascoyne Marine Park.

"Early in the voyage we collected a striking small, stripey horn shark," Will White, a shark expert from the agency's Australian National Fish Collection, said in a statement.

Horn sharks are a group of shark species known for their spiny fins and pronounced ridges above their eyes. They are usually found in the shallow waters of the western and eastern Pacific and the western Indian Ocean. However, this new species was found at a depth of nearly 500 feet, and, so far, scientists know nothing about its behavior.

Scientists have known about this species for a while, but it has yet to be described and scientifically named. Now, researchers at the Australian science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), have a model specimen that they can use to describe the new species.

The discovery was made as part of a research effort to improve our understanding of the diversity of life forms living in some of the most remote, and deepest, marine environments in Australia.

CSIRO's previous voyage, to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands Marine Park, yielded the discovery of an underwater shark "graveyard" containing hundreds of teeth, including those of the ancient ancestor of an extinct monster predator, the megalodon.

"Australia has a truly enormous marine estate that's home to some of the most diverse marine life on the planet, but we still know very little about what lives beneath the waves," White said. "From the very first survey on this voyage, we've been making new discoveries and collecting data that will be vital in helping to protect and conserve the life in our oceans."

John Keesing, the chief scientist on the voyage to Gascoyne Marine Park, said that it was not uncommon to come across new species during these kinds of biodiversity surveys.

"It's been estimated that around a third of the species collected on recent biodiversity survey voyages on RV Investigator may be new to science," he said in a statement. "The discoveries we make aren't just limited to new species. The voyages give us the opportunity to learn more about the marine ecosystem, as well as species range, abundance and behavior."

The researchers have pulled up several other species of interest, including an Ogilby's ghost shark. This species of ghost shark is native to Australia and southern Indonesia and is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is found on the seafloor at depths of up to 1,150 feet and can grow up to 33.5 inches long.

The Gascoyne Marine Park voyage is still underway and will continue until mid-December, with the promise of potential discoveries on the horizon in the coming weeks.

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