A new species of ancient and bizarre fish have been discovered of the coast of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico.

The species was originally discovered as early as the 1960s but went unnamed until this year because the taxonomic relationships were unclear. It is now named the “black ghostshark” (Hydrolagus melanophasma). It is a cartilaginous fish, and is most closely related to chimaeras, also called ratfish, rabbitfish, and ghostsharks, and perhaps the oldest enigmatic fishes alive today. Their closest relatives are sharks but are an evolutionary split that dates back 400 million years ago.

“Chimaeras were once a very diverse and abundant group, as illustrated by their global presence in the fossil record. They survived through the age of dinosaurs mostly unchanged, but today these fishes are relatively scarce and are usually confined to deep ocean waters, where they have largely avoided the reach of explorers and remained poorly known to science.” ScienceDaily.com

A fish has been found by the residents of the Daluo village in China’s Guangxi province, caught deep in the cave, known as Fu Yuan Dong, which means ‘Cave of Fortune’, where the waters of the lake are said to promote longevity.

The fish have a duck bill-shaped flat mouth and red lips, long, slim ‘mustaches’, and eyes close to their mouth. Specimens were sent to the Bama County and Guangxi provincial aquatics institutes for inspection, but none of the experts there knew what species they were. Older members of the village recalled the fish and could describe it but younger generations considered them to be no more than a fairy tale.

The thing I find most interesting about unique un-categorized discoveries as this is when the species takes on some regional aesthetic characteristics. I mean, it’s got a Fu Manchu mustache looking mouth… that intrigues the hell outta me.

The huge oarfish has been filmed by scientists operating a tiny submarine by remote. This may be the first time this fish is filmed, or even seen, in its natural environment. The King of Herrings is believed to be the creature behind the ancient myths about gigantic sea serpents. It has a prominent dorsal fin, almost like the continous spikes of a fairytale dragon.

The scientist in the video goes on about the details behind the experience.

[Wikipedia: Oarfish that washed ashore on a Bermuda beach in 1860. The animal was 16 feet (4.9 m) long and was originally described as a sea serpent.]

News Source: Aquatic Community

When I was a kid I wanted to be a palaeontologist… no kidding… yes, like Ross on Friends. I was fascinated by prehistoric creatures (and still am). I just came across an article about a “whaleshark” that existed 12-13 million years ago, aptly considered a hypercarnivorous. It’s scientific name is Leviathan melvillei; named after Herman Melville, renowned author of the classic Moby Dick.

Unfortunately, all that has been discovered is a jawbone and teeth that is about 75% complete, found in Peru in November 2008. The longest of the teeth measured 14 inches, 40% larger than that of a sperm whale’s, and more than 3 inches longer than the largest T-Rex’s tooth. Scientist believe it fed on creatures like the baleen whale, who’s blubber would be rich in calories. Erich Fitzgerald, a vertebrate palaeontologist at Museum Victoria in Melbourne, put it simplest and best: “If you’re big enough,you can bloody well eat what you want.”

Source: Wired News

The following news–sent to me by a loyal LOAH subscriber–is the kind of news I would never imagine having NOT been uncovered previously. BBC Earth News reports with the headline “Super squid sex organ discovered” and I ask the question: How only now?

Well folks, it seems that deep-sea squids have never been caught on film doing nature’s dance–unlike some stars out there–and only now scientists discovered that the deep-sea squid conceals a penis under his mantle that extends and stiffens longer than the length of its entire body.

How did scientists discover this? On a dying squid upon a dissection table. Apparently, the squid had a morbid reflex once cut open that caused it to get a massive erection to the point of sexual fulfillment. No longer a mystery, scientists can now put all their squidy copulation hypothesis aside and be amazed that these guys still do it the good ol’ fashion way. Well… actually half a mystery still remains since scientists don’t know WHERE the sperm is deposited within the female.

The following blurb from BBC summarizes why deep-sea squid sex was always a mystery (paragraphs removed from original source):

Shallow water cephalopods have evolved a special arm to do the job. They have short penises which produce packets of sperm, called spermatophores, then one of their eight limbs is modified to transfer this sperm to special receptacles on the female. These receptacles are located either on their skin, or internally. Deep-water male squid are known to use a more primitive method, which involves somehow injecting their sperm into the female’s body.

Source: BBC – Earth News
Image: Flickr, CC-By, JonDissed, “Abnormal squid readings”