Scientists discover glow-in-the-dark shark in Pacific Ocean

A group of scientists identified a new species of glow-in-the-dark shark in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

The shark has an unusually large nose, weighs a little less than a kilo and measures less than a foot.

The new species is a member of the lanternshark family. The species has been named Etmopterus lailae.

The glow-in-the-dark shark lives 1000 feet below the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the northwestern Hawaiian islands.

The discovery of the species was recently published in the journal Zootaxa.

Key highlights

• The Etmopterus lailae is highly understudied because of its size and the fact that it lives in very deep water.

• They are not easily visible or accessible like so many other sharks.

• The unique features and characteristics of this new species really sets it apart from the other lanternsharks.

• It has a strange head shape and an unusually large and bulgy snout where its nostrils and olfactory organs are located.

• The species lives in a deep sea environment with almost no light; therefore, they need to have a big sniffer to find food.

• Some of its other distinctive characteristics include its flank markings that go forward and backward on their bellies and a naked patch without scales on the underside of its snout.

• The species is bio-luminescent and the flanks on the bottom of its belly glow in the dark. The markings on its belly and tail also were specific to this new species.