Ghosts haunt the oceans. They scuttle along the shore, lurk among the corals, and glide through the dark ocean depths. Some of them blend into the shimmering water so completely that they’re almost invisible. Others stare with big, dark eyes, watching every move as they slide through the water.
None of the ghosts are apparitions from the afterlife, though -- well, almost none of them. Instead, they’re fish and shellfish found around the world. But they’re called ghosts because they have some spirit-like qualities.
New discoveries in the ocean never end, but sometimes even the ocean’s largest animals can evade scientists. It takes perseverance, a bit of luck and sometimes help from everyday people to find elusive new creatures. PhD student Marianne Nyegaard and a team of researchers from Murdoch University in Australia spent four years searching for a new species of sunfish, or mola, the largest bony fish in the world.
