Ghost sharks may get their name from their appearance, but it turns out they also have a unique sixth sense that could be attributed to their deep sea life.
The Electrosensory System of a Shark
Ampullae of Lorenzini are tiny muscle-filled pores, part of a shark’s electrosensory system. All sharks have Ampullae of Lorenzini which detect electrical signals in the water like movement or heart rates. This feature makes sharks efficient hunters, detecting prey from miles away.
Animals that live in the deep-sea have acquired specialized adaptations to help them survive in harsh conditions, where food is scarce and sight is limited. One particular adaptation can be found in the Ghost shark, who’s ampullae of lorenzini is a bit different from other sharks.
Ghost Sharks and Electrosensory Systems
Ampullae of Lorenzini are especially important for Ghost sharks, who hunt in the dark depths. They essentially rely on this system to detect prey they could otherwise not see. Researchers set out to learn more about Ghost sharks ampullae lorenzini, to find if there are any differences to sharks who are not deep-dwelling.
Results
This study found that the pattern of their pores are different from other sharks, inferring this may be due to evolutionary adaptations to help them be efficient in the dark environment’s extreme conditions such as temperature, light, and scarce prey.
These are the researchers’ findings:
- Ghost sharks have fewer ampullary pores than most sharks, which means they are not typical predators that hunt their prey. Instead, this suggests that they are opportunistic feeders, such as feeding on dead animals on the ocean floor.
- Their ampullary pores are mainly located on their head and mouth. Unlike the Ghost shark, most species of sharks have additional pores on their underside. This implies that Ghost sharks need their pores especially on their head to navigate in the dark rather than detect prey.
- The arrangement and size of their ampullary pores also stands out, since Ghost sharks have a unique pore arrangement and clusters of larger pores.
What Now?
This discovery is significant because it gives us more insight into deep sea creatures. Since it is difficult to access species that live in deep depths, there is little known about them and many have not even been discovered yet. Therefore, this study’s findings are significant and open up the possibility for more research to be performed to see if other deep-dwelling species share similar characteristics, or if this is unique to the Ghost shark.
Researchers from the study used stereo microscope photographs, used to examine three dimensional specimens, to get a closer look at the tissues and nerves of the ampullary organs. A-C shows the tissues, starting from a zoomed in range and then zooming out to get a better look at the Ghost shark’s electrosensory system.
Article written by Liel Shachr, University of Florida, B.S. Natural Resource Conservation, Political Science and Shark Angels intern.
Study: Sixth sense in the deep-sea: the electrosensory system in ghost shark Chimaera monstrosa by Massimiliano Bottaro