Ancient Ghost Sharks Dwell Deep, Pack Venomous Spines, and Survive the Abyss
Chimaeras, or ghost sharks, are ancient relatives of sharks that diverged about 400 million years ago; living mostly hundreds to thousands of metres deep, they swim with wing-like fins, sport rodent-like tails and rabbit-like teeth, and have venomous spines for defense. They hunt on the seabed for crabs, worms and urchins using electroreceptors, lay eggs, and males have a retractable tenaculum on their head to grip females during mating. They pose little danger to humans, but many species face extinction threats from overfishing.
