Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium have captured the first ever footage of a bizarre and elusive species of ghost shark.
The creature, known as a pointy-nosed blue chimaera, was filmed by an underwater research vehicle operating off the coast of California and Hawaii.
Marine biologists watching the footage were stunned to see what appeared to be a ghost shark that was unlike anything known to lurk in the region.
Subsequent analysis determined that it was a pointy-nosed blue chimaera, which normally resides around Australia.
Remarkably, the footage not only constitutes the first time that this species of ghost shark has been captured on film, it's also the first time it's been seen in the Western Hemisphere.
Source: National Geographic