Ghost Shark

The most common chimarea in European waters. This peculiar fish inhabits deep waters and is usually not encountered by divers. The first photographic doocumentation is from a Norwegian Fjord and the pictures are taken around midnight ot the depth of below 50 m. Ghost Sharks swim similarly to Manta rays by slow up – down strokes of the large pectoral fins. They are relatively slow but despite their rather bulky trunk a swimming ghost shark looks extermely elegant. They also can “hover” like a helicopter by flipping the pectoral fins on a horizontal plane.In the fjord environment this enables them to pick their prey effortless off the vertival granite walls. One female ghost shark was observed trailing two of th elong elongated and olive green egg capsules behind. The capsules were still attachedto the cloaca. The leading edge of the first dorsal fin carries a long, pointed, poisonous spine armed with barbs. Nonetheless chimaeras are eaten in quantities by large deepwater sharks. On their forehead males feature a head-clasper (tenaculum) clad with denticles which is used to grip the female during copulation. A pair of auxiliary claspers at the at the ventral fins has the same purpose. Nearby there are the paired true organs used for copulation also called claspers.

Central and western Mediterranean. Norway to Morrocco, Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands.