Australian researchers have fished a previously unknown species of shark out of the ocean. It is an incredibly important specimen for science.
Perth – It is the most exciting find of an ongoing research trip, Australia’s science agency CSIRO announced on Wednesday. It’s a small striped shark that scientists caught off the west coast of Australia. The specimen is a striped horn shark.
Australia: Researchers discovered previously unknown shark species in the ocean
“This species is unique to Australia, but it has not yet been described and named,” said CSIRO shark expert Will White, according to one Message. “The specimen we collect will be incredibly important to science because we will use it to describe the species.”
Striped horn shark lives at a depth of 150 meters – “We don’t know anything about their behavior”
The horn shark (Heterodontus francisci) usually lives in a water depth of 2 to 11 meters. So it’s more likely to be found in shallow water. The fish belongs to the bullhead shark family and grows to a maximum of 120 centimeters. Horn sharks spend most of the day camouflaged between rocks and algae on the seabed and come out at night to feed, the researchers explain. But the new species lives at a depth of more than 150 meters, “and we don’t know anything about its behavior,” says White.
The specimen was spotted on November 23 by the research ship “Investigator” in the Gascoyne Marine Park west of the Cape Range peninsula and brought on board, said a CSIRO spokesman for the German Press Agency.
“Australia has a truly massive marine expanse that is home to some of the most diverse marine life on earth,” White said. “But we still know very little about what lives beneath the waves.”
A gigantic fish carcass from the Atlantic Ocean recently caused a stir. A sunfish the size of an SUV. The record catch amazed even the researchers. (ml/dpa)
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