Glow-in-the-dark sharks found away New Zealand coast
Scientists say they experience found that three deepwater shark species living off New Zealand glow in the dark.
The species were collected from the Chatham Rise - a location of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand - in January of this past year, in line with the study.
One of these, the kitefin shark, is currently the most significant known luminous vertebrate and may reach up to 180cm (5ft 11in).
Bioluminescence was first also confirmed found in the blackbelly lanternshark and southern lanternshark.
The three species were already recognized to marine biologists but this can be a first-time that the phenomenon of bioluminescence - organisms emitting light - has been recognized in them.
While many marine animals - in addition to most insects such as fireflies - manufacture their own light, this is the first time it's been within larger sharks.
The researchers advise the sharks' glowing underbellies may help them hide from predators or additional threats beneath them.
They state the bioluminescence is achieved through a large number of photophores (light-producing cells) located within the sharks' skin.
The three studied species inhabit a space called the mesopelagic area, categorised as the twilight area, which ranges from 200m to 1 1,000m depth (the utmost depth reached by sunlight).
The species in question face an environment with no destination to hide, hence the necessity for counterillumination as a form of camouflage, the researchers add.
In the analysis, the scientists from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in New Zealand describe the importance of bioluminescence for marine creatures:
It "has typically been regarded as a spectacular yet uncommon event at sea, but taking into consideration the vastness of the deep sea and the occurrence of luminous organisms in this area, it is now a growing number of obvious that producing light at depth must take up a crucial role structuring the biggest ecosystem on our world".
