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What is this creature lurking in the depths? Geologists stumble upon shocking discovery

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Astonishing beast called 'water bunnies.'

Dumb luck led a group of geologists to what the Greeks once called a "chimaera."

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Highlights

By Kenya Sinclair (CALIFORNIA NETWORK)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
12/19/2016 (7 years ago)

Published in Green

Keywords: Ghost shark, camera, first time, deep-sea

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The chimaera, or "ghost shark," appears to be stitched together by a madman's hand.

It's dead, pale eyes are large orbs on the side of its patchwork face and its mouth hides within a series of folds across its snout and jaw.


The pointy-nosed blue chimaera was discovered in 2009 but the footage was held by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

A paper written by Lonny Lundsten and his colleagues of the same Institute was released alongside the footage.

Back in 2009, geology researchers repeatedly sent a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) into the depths of central California and Hawaii.

Footage was captured as deep as 6,700 feet. Several amazing creatures and habitats were revealed but the ghost shark, also known as a "water bunny," left researchers in awe.

Lundsten reported the findings with three chimaera experts who agreed the strange fish was a pointy-nosed blue chimaera.


The institute claimed the only true way to verify whether the beast they captured on camera was a real chimaera, the fish would need to be captured and hauled to the surface for a proper inspection.

"This is much easier said than done," the institute explained, "because these fish are generally too large, fast, and agile to be caught.

"If and when the researchers can get their hands on one of these fish, they will be able to make detailed measurements of its fins and other body parts and perform DNA analysis on its tissue.

"If these animals turn out to be the same species as the ghost sharks recently identified off California, it will be further evidence that, like many deep-sea animals, the pointy-nosed blue chimaera can really get around."


The pointy-nosed blue chimaera was first discovered in 2002 by researcher Dominique Didier Dagit, who found it near Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia.

She named it Hydrolagus trolli after Alaskan artist Ray Troll due to their shared love for ghost sharks. Dagit joked the fish even looks like Troll, though with considerably less facial hair.

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