The glow-in-the-dark shark found in New Zealand waters is the largest known luminous vertebrate

A species of glow-in-the-dark shark found during a study on the Chatham Rise in New Zealand waters is the largest known luminous vertebrate.

The kite shark, which can grow up to 180 cm, was one of three deep-sea luminous sharks found during an expedition to the area in January 2020, aboard the Niwa Tangaroa research vessel.

Dr. Jérôme Mallefet from UCLouvain, a French-speaking university in Belgium, was traveling and set up a dark laboratory aboard Tangaroa to photograph sharks.

The room was completely dark to mimic the darkness of the deep-sea ocean, and Mallefet photographed the sharks with a specialized camera.

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Before Mallefet’s experiment, no one had recorded light-producing bioluminescent sharks in New Zealand waters, Niwa said.

“I was so happy. I dreamed of getting images of bioluminescent sharks. [on the voyage] and I have them, ”Mallefet said.

Sharks, like most bioluminescent species, produced blue light, a color that travels well in the deep ocean.

The research results have just been published in the Frontiers in marine science diary.

Mallefet managed to photograph three species of bioluminescent sharks: the kite shark, the black-bellied lantern shark, and the southern lantern shark. It was the first time that the luminescence of the species had been documented.

All sharks live in what is known as the mesopelagic or “twilight” zone of the ocean, between 200-1000 meters deep, beyond which sunlight does not penetrate.

Seen from below, the sharks appear backlit against the shiny surface of the water, leaving them exposed to potential predators with nowhere to hide, reports the guardian saying.

The researchers suggest that the shiny bellies of these three species can help camouflage them from any threats that might attack from below.

In the case of the kite shark, which has few or no predators, the slow-moving species may use its natural glow to illuminate the ocean floor as it searches for food, or to disguise itself to get closer to its prey.

the Independent noted that the researchers found that the kite shark possessed bioluminescent sites along its belly, sides, back and dorsal fins that were controlled by hormones.

Despite having one of the slowest known “cruising speeds” among sharks, the kite fin is believed to have a very high short-range burst speed. Evidence has shown that it can eat fast-swimming fish, as well as slower creatures that dwell near the seafloor.