A “Ghost Shark” Swims into Our Imaginations
To deep-sea explorers, liquid space is the final frontier, full of the weird and wonderful.
Lonny Lundsten, senior research technician at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), is no exception.
He was part of a team that published research about and produced a video of an unusual species of “ghost shark” in deep-sea habitat off California’s central coast—the first time the species (the pointy-nosed blue chimaera, Hydrolagus trolli) has ever been seen alive.
This animal’s unusual features probably fascinate us for the same reasons they fascinate Lonny. Its lateral line system makes it look stitched together, a little like Frankenstein’s monster. Lonny says these visible lines allow the chimaera to sense vibrations or movements in the water and likely help it find prey.
One of the male’s copulatory organs is actually located on its head. Lonny says it’s thought to be used to grasp and hold a female during copulation. Other striking features include bony tooth plates; a long, slender, pointed tail; large eyes; and large pectoral fins.
Lonny says exploring the deep sea proves the adage that truth is stranger than fiction.
“The things I see are so remarkable and startling that I don’t need to imagine what might be in the deep sea,” he says. “Carnivorous sponges are my current specialty. They are such a bizarre animal…amazing and utterly surprising!”
Exploring the deep sea is MBARI’s specialty, and its scientists have an impressive suite of technological tools at their disposal, especially a remotely operated vehicle that can descend into the ocean’s depths. Lonny conducts a lot of his research watching HD video footage of animals and habitats as filmed by the ROV.
“MBARI is using state-of-the-art technology to push into the deep sea, down to 4,000 meters. This is an environment that is largely unexplored and certainly hasn’t been filmed using high-definition video cameras,” he says. “We use specialized lighting systems and HD cameras that can resolve details down to about a millimeter in size…we can observe animal behavior, and we can see what the habitat looks like where they’re found.”
Lonny reminds us that exploring the deep sea 100 years ago was mostly done by “dragging a net through the water column or along the seafloor, basically taking a big scoop of whatever was there” and working with the pieces—often literally.
“In many cases scientists had fragments of animals, animals that had been damaged or destroyed, with colors that no longer represented how they appear in life,” he says. “Now we see these animals in their own environment, we can see their habitat, their abundance, and the other organisms that live near them. We make stunning video observations and then we can carefully collect them so they are undamaged.”
Lonny says he’s grateful that his job has made his dreams come true of discovering new species and exploring new habitats.
“The coolest thing is that I get a sense of what it must have felt like for early explorers in human history to go places nobody’s ever been and to see things that nobody’s ever seen before,” he says. “It’s truly exciting and rewards me with a feeling of awe and wonder for the natural world.”
Need more ghost shark in your life? Watch the full video! ⬇
This story is excerpted from the summer 2017 issue of our member magazine, Shorelines. Become an Aquarium member and you’ll receive many benefits—unlimited admission; discounts on tours, sleepovers and merchandise; special night events and more—including exclusive notification of when new issues of Shorelines are available online!
