In honor of Shark Week, Discovery News thought it would be fun, in the coming days, to put questions to shark experts. The subject of today's big Q is the boneless, deep-sea-dwelling chimaera, and we
asked Brit Finucci to share her thoughts on what's most bizarre about these curious relatives of sharks. Brit is a Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate in deep sea chondrichthyan biology
and ecology and a member of the Gills Club of women scientists, an organization whose motto is "Smart About Sharks" and strives to foster girls' passion for sharks. Here's Brit's
answer: "Chimaeras are shark relatives, belonging to the same class (Chondrichthyes) as true sharks, skates, and rays. They are not well studied, partly because most chimaeras are from
the deep-sea, but we do know that chimaeras possess characteristics that make them unique from the rest of the cartilaginous fish. "The most bizarre of these characteristics is probably the
additional appendages that male chimaeras have, which are called tenacula (see photo below). There are two of these located above either side of the pelvic fins, and one found on the top of the head!
As males mature, the tenacula become calcified and develop sharp little hooks, very similar to the way that male claspers develop. To my knowledge, there are no records of wild chimaeras seen using
their tenacula, but captive animals have been documented using tenacula to grasp onto females during mating."
asked Brit Finucci to share her thoughts on what's most bizarre about these curious relatives of sharks. Brit is a Victoria University of Wellington PhD candidate in deep sea chondrichthyan biology
and ecology and a member of the Gills Club of women scientists, an organization whose motto is "Smart About Sharks" and strives to foster girls' passion for sharks. Here's Brit's
answer: "Chimaeras are shark relatives, belonging to the same class (Chondrichthyes) as true sharks, skates, and rays. They are not well studied, partly because most chimaeras are from
the deep-sea, but we do know that chimaeras possess characteristics that make them unique from the rest of the cartilaginous fish. "The most bizarre of these characteristics is probably the
additional appendages that male chimaeras have, which are called tenacula (see photo below). There are two of these located above either side of the pelvic fins, and one found on the top of the head!
As males mature, the tenacula become calcified and develop sharp little hooks, very similar to the way that male claspers develop. To my knowledge, there are no records of wild chimaeras seen using
their tenacula, but captive animals have been documented using tenacula to grasp onto females during mating."
The vehicle-a 3D-printed minibus called "Olli" capable of carrying 12 people-was unveiled by Arizona-based startup Local Motors outside the US capital city Washington.
This illustration depicts the view from outside of a rapidly-accreting black hole. The bright light toward the center represents the super-heating of gas as it falls onto the black hole. Emanating from the center is a jet of accelerated particles moving near the speed of light. Surrounding the black hold is cool, clumpy gas and dust, which are falling inwards and will eventually join the material accreting onto the black hole.