It may be early to get the Halloween decorations out for most, but in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean spooky season is well underway. Scientists said Tuesday they had discovered a new species of ghost shark that lives exclusively in the waters off Australia and New Zealand. The Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish was found during research surveys in the Chatham Rise, an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) based in Auckland. Ghost sharks, also known as chimaeras, are a group of cartilaginous fish closely related to sharks and rays. This long-nosed spookfish was better researched among its kind as it is often observed on research surveys and is caught incidentally in commercial fisheries, Finucci said.

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Persons: Brit Finucci, Finucci, spookfish Organizations: National Institute of Water, Atmospheric Research, avia, NIWA Fisheries, NBC Locations: Australia, New Zealand, Chatham, Auckland