Large Chimaera on Never-Before-Surveyed Seamount

While exploring Ļōjabōn-Bar Seamount in the waters of the Marshall Islands, we were excited at the sight of this absolutely stunning (and rather large) chimaera. This cartilaginous fish from the Order Chimaeriformes are related to sharks and commonly called a ghost shark, rat fish, spook fish, or rabbit fish. Most chimaera live in the deep sea and this one was caught on video by ROV Hercules at 1,615 meters. What a treat to see on the first ever dive on Ļōjabōn-Bar Seamount, which lies roughly 85 nm north of Bikini Atoll!

The NA174 expedition to explore the deep sea of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.