A rare ghost shark was captured on camera. And the video has now been released almost six years after being shot.
The shark species captured is known as Chimaera, which lives around one and a half miles below the surface of the ocean. A strange feature observed in this species is the presence of the reproductive organ on its head; the reason behind it is still unclear to scientists.
"A little bit of dumb luck" led to the film being captured, Dave Ebert, the program director for the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories told the National Geographic magazine.
Ebert revealed that the footage was accidentally shot with the help of a remote-operated vehicle which was being used by geologists at the coasts of Hawaii and California.
The ghost sharks are hardly seen by humans as they live in deep oceans. The creature shot is known as a pointy nose blue chimaera, a rare species found only in the waters of Australasia.
The chimaeras don't have sharp teeth like other species of sharks -- Hammerheads and Great Whites. These ghost sharks have mineral plates instead of sharp teeth. They are predators to bottom feeder, tiny marine creatures whom they crush using their mineral plates.
"The ghost shark shot in the footage swam up to the camera and wasn't at all camera shy," Ebert was quoted as saying by the Independent.
"It's almost a little comical. It would come up and bounce its nose off the lens and swim around and come back," he added.
You can check the first shot footage of the rare ghost shark here.
