The Ocean Is Insane Part 1 Zillion: Scientists Have Discovered Sharks Off New Zealand That Glow In The Dark
The species were collected from the Chatham Rise - an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand - in January of last year, according to the study. One of them, the kitefin shark, is now the largest known luminous vertebrate and can reach up to 180cm (5ft 11in). Bioluminescence was also confirmed in the blackbelly lanternshark and southern lanternshark.The three species were already known to marine biologists but this is the first time that the phenomenon of bioluminescence - organisms emitting light - has been identified in them. While many marine animals - as well as some insects such as fireflies - produce their own light, this is the first time it has been found in larger sharks. The researchers suggest the sharks' glowing underbellies may help them hide from predators or other threats beneath them. They say the bioluminescence is achieved through thousands of photophores (light-producing cells) located within the sharks' skin.
Every time I see something like this my chest tightens up. Oh ho hum just another monster born straight out of a nightmare that actually exists in the ocean. That thing is 6ft long and lurks around at the bottom of the ocean near New Zealand just waiting to blind it's prey and chomp the fucking shit out of them like sharks love to do. The ocean really is a mystery and so is evolution. There's no reason an animal like that should be able to exist. How does skin just one day decide to start glowing in the dark? I need Darwin to literally come back from the dead and explain that shit to me because it is absolutely terrifying.
A lot of you are probably thinking what this guy is thinking
Okay, Tyler. Allow me to clarify my position again. That lightsaber looking ass shark lives at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of New Zealand. Humans have been around studying the ocean for at least 500 years now and this is the FIRST time anyone has ever found one of these bad boys. Which means...I don't have to worry about it. That shark isn't going to run up on me in the water if I'm swimming. I am basically an astronaut or an alien to that guy. I am existing in a different world. You know what lives on land? Murderers. Bears. Snakes. Poison plants. Spiders. Lyme disease. Cougars. Rocks. There's all sorts of scary shit in the woods that is way more likely to result in my death than some nightlight shark. Look how far down the ocean is
Insanely deep. Impossibly deep. I can never get to 99.999% of it. So I can just write that off forever. The woods are scarier. This shark is cool. The end.