Surprise! Ghost shark lives deep in Monterey Bay

Scientists don’t know much about the ghost shark and until this past weekend, they had no idea it lived in the Monterey Bay.

The ghost shark, also known as a pointy-nosed blue chimaera, is not technically a shark. According to experts it’s more of an ancestor of the shark.

As rare discoveries go, this one is pretty rare and is being heralded worldwide. And the scientists behind the discovery are thrilled.

“It’s great you know, I travel all over the world looking for new sharks and I find one right here in the Monterey Bay,” said Dr. David Ebert with Moss Landing Marine Labs, “it’s freaking awesome to be honest!”

The mysterious creature was videotaped by a Monterey Bay Research Institute remotely-operated sub, 6,000 feet below the surface of Monterey Bay. It’s this new technology that’s allowed local scientists to lead the charge in scientific discoveries. According to Ebert, scientists from the Monterey Bay are responsible for spotting one-third of all ghost sharks found across the globe.

“Thanks to these deep sea remote operated vehicles at six, seven, eight thousand feet, otherwise we probably wouldn’t know this thing is out here,” added Ebert.

Now scientists don’t know too much about the new discovery. There is a small chance that this creature can be a totally new species, a DNA test is needed for confirmation.

“A common cliche is we know more about the moon than we do right here in the ocean, in the deep sea, and that’s absolutely true,” said Ebert.

The ghost shark has usually been found in the Southern Hemisphere and has never been this far north.