「幽霊ザメ」の新種発見 ニュージーランド国立機関

【９月２４日 ＡＦＰ】ニュージーランド国立水圏大気圏研究所（ＮＩＷＡ）は２４日、「幽霊ザメ」とも呼ばれるギンザメの新種をオーストラリアとニュージーランドの深海で発見したと発表した。（写真は「幽霊ザメ」とも呼ばれるギンザメの新種。ニュージーランド国立水圏大気圏研究所提供）
　ギンザメは軟骨魚類の一種。不気味な黒目と、うろこのない滑らかで薄茶色の体表が特徴的だ。最大で水深２６００メートルの深海に生息し、独特のくちばし状の口で甲殻類を捕食する。
　新種は、ニュージーランド南島の東方約１０００キロにわたって広がる太平洋のチャタム海膨の調査中に発見された。
　研究者のブリット・フィヌッチ氏は、自身の祖母の名前にちなみ、学名を「Ｈａｒｒｉｏｔｔａ ａｖｉａ」と付けたと発表している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/09/24-17:58）

Scientists in New Zealand said Tuesday they have discovered a new species of ghost shark, a type of fish that prowls the Pacific Ocean floor hunting prey more than a mile down.
The Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish was found living in the deep waters of Australia and New Zealand, according to scientists from Wellington-based National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
The specimens were discovered during research in the Chatham Rise, an area of the Pacific which stretches around 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) east near New Zealand's South Island.
Ghost sharks, or chimaeras, are related to sharks and rays, but are part of a group of fish whose skeletons are entirely made of cartilage.
Also known as spookfish, the ghost sharks have haunting black eyes and smooth, light brown, scale-free skin.
They feed off crustaceans at depths of up to 2,600 metres (8,530 feet) using their distinctive beak-like mouth.
Ghost sharks like this one are largely confined to the ocean floor, said research scientist Brit Finucci.
Finucci gave the new species its scientific name Harriotta avia in memory of her grandmother.
Their habitat makes them hard to study and monitor, meaning we don't know a lot about their biology or threat status, but it makes discoveries like this even more exciting.
The spookfish was previously thought to be part of a single globally distributed species until scientists discovered it is genetically and morphologically different to its cousins.