A giant shark that glows in the dark, which uses bioluminescence as camouflage to attack prey, is found almost 1000 meters below the surface of the New Zealand coast.
- A kite shark has been seen in New Zealand, showing bioluminescence
- This is the first time the characteristic has been observed in shark species
- It lives deep below sea level, where light cannot reach
- Experts believe that he uses the ability to hide from his prey so that he can attack
- They also found a bright black-bellied lantern and a southern lantern
There are a number of deep creatures that glow in the dark, but a team studying marine life has the first “giant bright shark.”
Researchers saw the kitefun shark off the east coast of New Zealand during a survey last year, along with two others – a black-bellied lantern and a southern lantern, which also has bioluminescence.
The kite shark can grow almost 6 meters long and usually lives 984 feet below sea level, considering it the largest bright vertebrate known.
All three unique creatures live in an area of the ocean called the “Twilight Zone,” which stretches 3,200 feet below sea level and is within reach of light.
The study suggests that because they live in a region without light, there is no place for sharks to hide and use their shiny bodies as camouflage – they appear backlit on the shiny surface of the water.
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There are a number of deep creatures that glow in the dark, but a team studying marine life has the first “giant bright shark.” Researchers saw kitefun shark off the east coast of New Zealand during a survey last year
The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, was conducted by researchers in Belgium and New Zealand, who made the findings in January 2020 and published their findings on February 26.
The species was collected from Chatham Rise, which is an area of the ocean floor east of New Zealand.
And, although the species is known in the scientific community, this is the first time that the phenomenon of bioluminescence has been observed in them.
This phenomenon, also called “living light” or “cold light”, is triggered by a chemical reaction in a fish that contains the luciferin molecule which is easily produced when it reacts with light.
The kite shark can grow almost 6 meters long and usually lives 984 feet below sea level, considering it the largest bright vertebrate known. Experts suggest that the shark uses its ability as camouflage when attacking prey
“Bioluminescence has often been seen as a spectacular but unusual event at sea, but given the vastness of the deep sea and the appearance of light organisms in this area, it is now increasingly clear that deep light production must play an important role. structuring the largest ecosystem on our planet “, the researchers shared in the published study.
“This first experimental study of three species of bright sharks from New Zealand provides insight into the diversity of shark bioluminescence and highlights the need for further research to help understand these unusual deep-sea sharks: bright sharks.”
The study focused mainly on the kite shark, as researchers were puzzled as to why large vertebrates would have lighting abilities.
They found that although it has few predators, the kite shark has one of the slowest measures of cruising speed in sharks, suggesting that it “has a high explosive capacity.”
The team found two other sharks with bioluminescence abilities – a black-bellied flashlight (pictured) and a southern flashlight
After analyzing the stomach contents of a specimen, the team found that it usually feeds on smaller lantern sharks, which have higher swimming speeds.
Knowing this, the team hypothesizes that the kite shark uses luminescence to light the ocean floor while looking for prey and hunting, along with allowing it to attack in stealth mode.