One of the most curious and mysterious sharks that exist along the seas is the ghost shark. It is one of the most elusive species of sharks with which it takes a lot of effort to see and know about it. It is a type of shark about which not much is known and which is still being investigated today.
In this article we are going to tell you everything you need to know about the ghost shark and what is known about its behavior and customs.
Key features
It is a species of shark that is quite known by the name of Wounded Kim. It belongs to the Chimaeridae family and the Hydrolagus genus. They have common names in other parts of the world as they are given names that resemble their physical appearance. For instance, we can find the name of blue chimera with a pointed nose that refers to its shape. It belongs to the order of cartilaginous fish.
It is a species that has been on our planet for more than 300 million years. It is as if it were a specimen of a dinosaur that still lives today. The appearance of this species is really spectacular. Its head is made up of something that looks like metal plates. It gives the feeling as if you have certain metallic elements on your head and it gives the look as if you have multiple scars all over this part.
You can look him in the eye and see that they are lifeless. They have eyes with a rather strange color and do not have large teeth and a fearsome appearance as is often the case with other species of shark. In green these teeth have tailed bony plates that are capable of breaking up their food.
The appearance of this species that emerged 300 million years ago is truly spectacular: if we look at its head, it seems to be made up of metal plates, which give the sensation of being sutured together due to the appearance of multiple scars that it presents. Their eyes seem to lack life because of their color and they do not have fearsome teeth like others of their kind, but rather have bony plates with which they are capable of crushing their food.
One of its main characteristics for what it stands out is for the intense color that it has between blue and white. It's because of this color that they really call me a ghost shark. It is because it resembles a real ghost underwater. Their nose is quite pointed and males have a reproductive organ on their head. It is a retractable reproductive organ. There are various scientific investigations on these sharks in which the specimens that arrived dead ashore were investigated.
Range and habitat
The ghost shark has a fairly wide range. They usually develop and inhabit depths close to 2000 meters and, having a fairly high speed, it is quite difficult for them to be able to give it in motion. Thanks to the fact that in 2009 his behavior pattern began to change, It was best observed in the Hawaiian Islands and in California thanks to the fact that it began to be seen in unusual depths. Specimens could be found at depths of only 600 meters. These little papers quite the analytical work.
We can say that its natural distribution area is situated around the Tasman Sea. In this area, it is most abundant between the south east and the center of the Pacific Ocean. Among its behavior patterns we find that it is quite slippery since it has quite large speeds of movement. They usually swim in depths of between 1000 and 2000 meters, so it is quite difficult to follow them.
Ghost shark feeding
This species of shark mainly eats a carnivorous diet. It is not possible to know well in detail what their type of diet is. This is due to what we have mentioned above. Between the great depths at which it is usually driven and the speed at which it travels, they make researching its diet quite complex and expensive.
It is estimated that their diet it consists mainly of crustaceans and small fish, although it is not entirely confirmed. There is not much scientific information about your diet.
Reproduction of the ghost shark
Regarding its reproduction, this type of shark has an oviparous reproduction. That is, it reproduces through eggs. Its reproduction begins when it reaches a stage and a phase of adult maturity. Usually, this stage comes when they exceed 55 centimeters in length. Nor is all the details of its reproduction fully known, since this animal has never been fully studied. What is known is because it has happened that these animals have been discovered in the middle of copulation and it is the only thing that has been known.
It must be taken into account that in order to have all the data of this species, there are only 2 or 3 ghost shark sightings in a year. Most of these sightings are made on solitary species that are not even pairs or groups of sharks that travel together.
Had today, the ghost shark is listed as a species of minor concern due to the fact that they are difficult to locate. This means that the impact on this species is less. It is true that one of the direct impacts of humans on this species is uncontrolled trawling. Because of this type of fishing tools, dozens of specimens have been captured by making people believe and having the existence of this animal. They were also saved from the impact of human beings thanks to the depths to which they usually live.
As you can see, species that seem fictitious live in the sea. I hope that with this information you can learn more about the ghost shark.