Experts thrilled after deep-sea camera captures ‘first-ever record’ of elusive predator species

It looked like a shadow at first – but after several minutes, a rare species of deep-sea shark had swum past an underwater camera 54 times, much to the delight of researchers.

The Miami Herald reported on eventswhich happened in the Caribbean’s Cayman Islands. A group of scientists conducting the area’s “first systematic survey” of deep-sea biodiversity lowered their camera to a depth of approximately 3,500 feet. They baited it with sardines and waited for the sea life to appear – and sure enough, the dog shark appeared shortly after.

Several of the small sharks continued to swim back and forth 54 times over the course of several minutes as researchers captured high-quality footage of this normally “cryptic” predator.

In theirs report published in the Journal of Fish Biology, the team called the recording “the first ever record of the species” in Cayman and the central Caribbean. This not only helps “add a new species locality record,” they wrote, but it “expands our knowledge of the distribution of the dogfish in the region.”

Considering that the spiny shark is usually only seen as by-catch, accidentally caught and killed by fishing boats and deep-sea trawlers, this is a major achievement for better understanding the species. And, the team added in their paper, it highlights that video systems are a great method to “enhance and expand our understanding of the biology and diversity of deep-sea sharks.”

Finding effective, non-invasive ways to document the existence of species like the dogfish is key for researchers working to maintain biodiversity and species knowledge. This is particularly important in conservation efforts; after all, a team can’t help an endangered population thrive if they don’t know where and how they live.

Similar research has helped repopulate critically endangered species such as eagles and ospreys, gray wolves, pygmy pigs and Siamese crocodiles.

Maintaining biodiversity is essential to ensure that ecosystems remain healthy and functioning. As an eminent scientific group The Royal Society puts it: “Biodiversity is essential to the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide variety of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we depend on to provide us with the air , we inhale. and the food we eat.”

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