Multimedia Gallery
Pacific spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei)
The Pacific spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei), or ghost shark, lives in deep waters near the ocean floor and possesses strange morphologies like large, rabbit-like eyes and a giant bulb on the forehead of males that grows spiky teeth resembling shark teeth. Researchers are using remotely operated underwater vehicles to search for their nesting grounds to learn about the developmental processes that lead to these morphologies.
[Research supported by U.S. National Science Foundation grant IOS 2128032.]
Learn more in the University of Florida news story Unlocking secrets of the elusive ghost shark. (Date of image: 2023; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Aug 11, 2023)
Credit: Gareth Fraser and Karly Cohen
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