Blog

You’re having a nice day at the beach. The Sun is out, the water is cool, and then you see a triangular fin sticking out of the water. It’s a classic shot seen in countless shark-themed movies, from Jaws to The Shallows. In the latter film, med student Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) goes surfing in Mexico as a way of coping with her mother’s recent death.

After a day soaking up sunshine and salt, Nancy is grabbing one last wave when a 23-foot great white shark knocks her from her board and bites her in the leg. She finds safety on a nearby rock, sticking safely just above the waterline, but high tide is approaching.

On the other side of the world and in much deeper waters, real-world scientists recently discovered a new species of mid-sized shark living neary 5,000 feet below the surface of the western Pacific. The discovery was published in the journal Fishes.

For More on Sharks:
24-Foot Basking Shark Corpse Had to Be Forklifted Off a U.K. Beach
Tiger Shark Vomits Up Intact Echidna in Bizarre Shark Attack
How Baby Hammerheads Grow Their Weird Tool-Shaped Heads

New Species, the Roughback Bristle Shark Discovered in the Western Pacific

Through a combination of observations, captured individuals, and analysis of museum specimens, researchers identified the previously unknown species Dichichthys satoi, commonly called the roughback bristle shark.

It takes its name from rough, spike-like protrusions on its skin. Scanning electron microscope images reveal bristles that appear almost like tiny teeth growing from the skin. To date, they have only been observed off the coast of New Zealand (Aotearoa), living at depths of nearly 5,000 feet. The discovery is notable not just for the addition of a new shark species, but also for the creation of a new shark family, Dichichthyidae.

There are four other species which were previously miscategorized as members of other catshark families, but the roughback bristle filled in a piece of the shark puzzle which reoriented our understanding of other species. Roughback bristle sharks are notable for their unique eye shape, dorsal fins, reproductive morphology, and egg shape.

At the surface, they have brownish-gray coloring which would be nearly invisible at the lightless depths where they live. Pregnant individuals have been found carrying three eggs apiece, each banana shaped and golden brown. Researchers believe the eggs develop in the body to a point and are laid before the embryos are fully developed.

There’s still a lot to learn about roughback bristle sharks, but they likely rule their corner of the deep sea, regulating the food web from the top down. Researchers digging through the stomach contents have found various fishes and the beaks of several octopuses. Adults grow to about 3 feet and hunt prey animals with approximately 200 teeth which stick out from the mouth even when it’s closed. In the oceans, there is nowhere to hide from sharks, not in the deep, and not in the shallows.

Catch The Shallows streaming now on SYFY, and Jaws streaming on Peacock and SYFY.