As Hudson Pinheiro and Luiz Rocha, two ichthyologists with the California Academy of Sciences who just discovered a new species of fish, were diving underwater, they did not see a huge 10-foot shark that was just above their heads. The video showing this event was taken by their safety officer.
A new species of fish has just been discovered
The two scientists we just mentioned have discovered a new neon pink and yellow fish, Tosanoides aphrodite, which was named after the Greek goddess of love and beauty. While discovering this new species, they somehow managed to miss a shark that was swimming just above them.
The video that was captured by Mauritius Valente Bell, the divers’ safety officer, was filmed off the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago at approximately 420 feet depth. Based on the video, it seems that the divers thought that Bell was telling them that they need to go to the surface, when in fact he was trying to tell them that there is a shark just above.
The shark that was ignored by the divers
The scientists estimated that the shark in the video is about 8 to 10 feet long. The shark is a bluntnose sixgill, who can grow as much as 11 to 16 feet long. This type of sharks can be found in warm waters in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. According to Paul Rose who wrote for National Geographic, these sharks “are not usually dangerous to humans unless provoked.” It appears that the scientists who discovered the new fish were part of a global initiative, called “Hope for Reefs”, whose purpose is to “research and restore critical coral reefs systems” across the globe. The world has already lost at least 25% of its coral reefs, and 75% of the reefs are threatened by various factors.
Agnes is a technical writer, being in touch with reports to come up with the latest tech leaks.
