Deep Sea Creature "Ghost Shark" Caught On Video for the First Time in California

In a very rare opportunity, a Ghost Shark was captured unintentionally in a video by a group of researchers. The researchers were geologists that were only exploring the deep waters for their project when they discovered they actually recorded a deep sea creature called Chimaera. This kind of ghost shark is not normally found in the waters of Northern Hemisphere so this came to a shock even to marine scientists.

The Ghost Shark in the video could be a Chimaera which isn't really a shark and is somehow related to marine dinosaurs. It is known to nest only in the waters of Australia and New Zealand but proven wrong by the footage. It's possible the Chimaera could now be nesting in more areas which are yet to be discovered.

According to the program director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, no scientist would go in the northern hemisphere to look for Chimaera so capturing it on video in the area is pure luck. The video was captured way back in 2009 and was only released recently by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Scientists need more investigation before they can confirm the creature in the video is the Chimaera. Although it certainly looks like one, more proof and videos are needed to prove it. Chimaera Expert Dominique Didier said in an interview that the only way this can be proven is to collect more data by trawling. "So, it's like a snapshot. Imagine trying to understand species distribution in Lake Michigan and you sample the lake using a Dixie cup. Trawling the ocean is like that." She said.

This isn't the first time a Chimaera was caught on video but this is the only time it was seen in a different location. For that reason, researchers need more time to determine if the creature caught on the video is the same species or its close relative.