Scientists Uncover Unbelievable Mystery Hidden for Millennia in the Deep Sea

So, picture this: researchers toss a baited GoPro into the deep, dark abyss of the ocean—and bam! They uncover a creature so elusive, it’s like spotting Bigfoot but wetter and with fins. Remember when just a splash of water on your phone had you planning a funeral for your pocket pal? Well, those days are fading fast. Now, while we mere humans can’t plunge into crushing ocean depths (unless you fancy being squashed like a soda can), our trusty gadgets are diving in for us—snapping pics, grabbing footage, and basically making the ocean’s deepest secrets spill like hot tea. Recently, a deep-sea robot made a flawless round trip from the world’s deepest spot, proving we’re just getting started on what tech can uncover.

Now, before you get all excited about ocean selfies, remember it’s not just the pressure down there that keeps us out. The deep harbors some prehistoric, downright terrifying creatures that’d make your nightmares look like a Disney movie. But in Timor-Leste, a little island tucked away in Southeast Asia, scientists hooked a first-ever on-camera glimpse of the painted swellshark—a neat little shark that’s been playing hide and seek beneath the waves for who knows how long. I mean, this species was barely known before, only spotted in fish markets, but thanks to a sneaky GoPro and a bit of bait, boom! Historic footage.

Could this be the start of a new deep-sea binge-watch craze? Or maybe just a reminder that the ocean is one heck of a diva, showing up only when it’s good and ready. Either way, I’m hooked—and seriously, who knew a little camera and some bait could teach us so much about a world we barely even know?

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Researchers who dropped a baited GoPro into the deep ocean were able to make a shocking discovery.

It only feels like yesterday when spilling a glass of water on your phone would ruin it forever but times are changing, and while humans aren’t quite capable of exploring the depths of the ocean themselves, we have some pretty trusty technology to do it for us.

Only recently, scientists were able to send a deep-sea robot into the world’s deepest point, and it came back without a scratch on it, which just goes to show the sort of things we’re going to be able to discover as the tech at our disposal advances further.

Although humans would be crushed by the pressure in the depths of the ocean, that’s not the only reason why we don’t want to risk going down there, given that there’s some potentially deadly animals which predate the dinosaurs.

And now, scientists working in Timor-Leste, an island nation in Southeast Asia, have come across a species which they believe has never been caught in camera before, after sending a GoPro into the deep ocean, fitted with some bait.

The interested swellshark came for two bites at the bait (Louw Claassens | National Geographic Exploration Technology Lab)

After discussions with an expert, the team were able to confirm that it was the Cephaloscyllium pictum, or painted swellshark for those of you that aren’t fluent in Latin, that they attained historic footage of.

“This is the first time that we have seen the deep ocean of Timor-Leste so it makes it very exciting,” says study author Louw Claassens from WorldFish. “The fact that we were able to get footage of the painted swellshark is really a bonus!”

The incredibly rare species has reportedly only been seen before when five separate specimens were found at Indonesian fish markets, but, much like London buses, the scientists managed to miraculously spot two in two days.

It’s perhaps no surprise that they’re tricky to find, as while it’s easy to keep track of some of the biggest great white sharks in the ocean, painted swellsharks reportedly have a maximum length of just 72cm.

“To our knowledge, this species has never been observed in the wild, and little is known about its ecology, habitat or behaviour,” the authors say in their new paper.

The swellshark was found off the coast of Dili, Timor-Leste (Giulio Paletta/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“At each site, the shark returned to the camera several times, and in the second instance the female shark interacted with the bait and made several passes in front of the camera.”

Claassens hopes that this will be the first of many exciting findings in the region.

She said: “This initial first look allows us to get the interest going and hopefully make an argument that further research and exploration is needed. There is still so much to learn about the ocean.”