North

Arctic mystery fish identified

A 'goblin shark' caught in Nunavut waters is actually a long-nosed chimaera, says a researcher at the University of Windsor.

A University of Windsor researcher has identified a strange fish caught recently in Nunavut waters. 

Nigel Hussey, a researcher who works with the Ocean Tracking Network, says the fish some speculated was a goblin shark is actually the mysterious "long-nosed chimaera" — mysterious because they're rarely caught.

This fish was caught recently by a Nunavut fishing boat, somewhere in Davis Strait. (Jutai Korgak, facebook)

"Only one of these fish has previously been documented from the Hudson Strait," Hussey says. "Potentially, if we fish deeper, maybe between 1,000 and 2,000 metres, we could find that's there's actually quite a lot of them there. We just don't know."

Hussey says the long-nosed chimera is related to sharks and stingrays. It's got a whip-like tail and a long nose. They typically grow to be about a metre long.

The fish was caught by a Nunavut fishing boat, somewhere in Davis Strait. A photo of the creature went viral, after it was posted online.​