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Scientists have discover a never - before - seen species of"ghost shark"with a massive heading , giant , iridescent eyes and feathery fins in the profundity of the Andaman Sea off the coast of Thailand .
The knotty abstruse - sea creature , namedChimaera supapae , is a cartilaginous fish in the order of the old fishes alive today , Chimaeriformes . These ancient fish are remote relatives ofsharksand rays .
Scientists described the discovery in a newspaper published March 6 in the journalRaffles Bulletin of Zoology .
" Chimaera are rare in this region of the world,“David Ebert , run source of the study and program theatre director of the Pacific Shark Research Center at San Jose State University in California , state Live Science in an email .
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Chimaeras inhabit the continental slopes and ocean ridges of the recondite ocean . Found at depths below 1,640 substructure ( 500 meters ) , these ghostly individuals lurk in dark waters , feeding on bottom - dwelling animals such as crustacean , mollusc and insect .
" There were only 53 known species of chimaera in the world ; this makes 54 , " Ebert tell . Their deep - sea nature makes them difficult to find , especially in the Andaman Sea , where depths in some areasexceed 14,500 understructure ( 4,400 m ) .
The coarse names of chimaera — ghost shark and ratfish — come from their big , meditative eyes and so-and-so - like , tapering bodies . Some species can grow up to 6.6 feet(2 m)long .
The dead unfledged virile specimen was discovered as part of a deep - sea survey projection carried out in 2018 . The scientists collected it during a bottom spiller in the Andaman Sea between 2,533 and 2543 groundwork ( 772 to 775 mebibyte ) below the open . Researchers recognized it as a newfound species by its " monumental school principal with short snout " and its large , prolate heart that are over 32 % of its total head length .
The newly report coinage is a type of shortnose chimaera , measure 20 inches ( 51 centimeters ) long with broad thoracic fins . Ebert suspects the brute ’s feather - similar nonsense have to do with " their ability to point over stony bottomland of high relief . "
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C. supapae ’s big , iridescent , green middle serve the animal see in the pitch - disastrous water supply . Its sorry - brown skin showed no detectable production line or pattern , and the Pisces the Fishes has a dorsal spine on the top of its straits .
The mintage was namedsupapaeafter the late Supap Monkolprasit , a scientist from Thailand who spend her life studying cartilaginous fishes . The genus nameChimaeracomes from the Greek mythological fire - take a breath creaturethat has three oral sex — the head of a lion at the front , a Capricorn ’s headspring that extends from its back and a serpent butt that ends with the head of a snake .
" Evolutionarily , these chimaeras are among some of the oldest lineage of fishes with the lineage buy the farm back 300 - 400 million years , " Ebert said . " The discovery of new species like this chimaera tells us how little we know about the nautical environment and how much is still to be explored . "
