In 1928 a talented young man named H. P. Lovecraft showed the world the first appearance of his character Cthulhu, a creature from the depths of the ocean that conquered the Earth. The narrative of the father of the horror story is much more complex than an imposing sea creature; however, it makes it clear that humankind has been awaiting what lies in the depths of the ocean since time immemorial. And although, in reality, it is humanity what causes fear by stalking these creatures, Lovecraft was right about one thing; there are creatures that defy our understanding of living things. Recently, one such creatures has been discovered; a strange fish whose shape is reminiscent of the mythical scaled dragon creature, except that it has a pale pink color.
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Photograph of a ghost
Although many of the creatures that live in the ocean are classified, and their species have been well-known for ages, observing them is an experience that escapes words. For proof of this there is photographer Roman Fedorstov’s social media, which is littered with strange creatures that Roman encounters along the way.
One of his most recent photographs showed a rare dragon-like fish with a long tail, bulging eyes, and a color ranging from grayish to pale pink. The photographer seemed surprised by his find although he did not attach any message, except for a quote from Lovecraft: “It is one thing to chase something nameless, but it is another thing to find it.”
Instagram users soon began to speculate the origin of the strange fish, as its appearance seems to come out of another world very different from ours. First they theorized about the existence of a new species of flying dragonfish; however, as the comments went on, the fish was said to be some sort of chimera.
It seems that the hypothesis of the cosmonauts is not very far from reality, and the strange species of fish that Roman shows in his photograph is related to cartilaginous marine beings such as manta rays as well as sharks. According to those in the know, the hypothetical dragon fish is actually a ghost shark that has rarely been photographed because it lives in the depths of the ocean.
Where does the ghost shark live?
Ghost sharks, also called ‘chimeras,’ are almost living fossils because they have inhabited the planet since the Devonian period, some 419 million years ago. The characteristic that makes them extraordinary and gives them their ghostly appearance is that they are cartilaginous. That is to say that they do not have a bony structure; but instead stiffen parts of their body from cartilage plates.
They commonly inhabit the depths of the ocean, where they can reach up to 2,600 meters deep in an area known as the bathyal. For this reason, they are rarely seen near the surface where most explorations are carried out. In fact, not many details are known about their behavior, and there are few photographs of them in situ, although thanks to the virality of social networks, now more people will have the opportunity to observe this strange ghost shark and appreciate the diversity of marine life.
Text courtesy of Ecoosfera