Strange, unprecedented sharks

During the 2-month fishing journey in early 2012, new graduate student Paul Clerkin has seen many strange sharks under 2,000m in the Indian Ocean.

Picture 1 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
This 'ghost' shark seems like a new species. It has large pectoral fins and lives very deep in the sea.

Picture 2 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
Another 'ghost' shark. This shark has a curved spine on its back, near its head.

Picture 3 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
Small cat shark, probably a new species.

Picture 4 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
This fishing boat caught more than 30 "fake" cat sharks. These large, pointed face sharks seem to be quite rare, but Clerkin thinks that is not exactly true, probably because we rarely catch in deep waters.

Picture 5 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
In the position of the teeth, these fish are replaced by hard, flat pieces of bone.

Picture 6 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
This shark is quite long, small, with an extremely strange mouth.

Picture 7 of Strange, unprecedented sharks
Another species of shark has yet to be named.