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The newly discovered shark, which measures in at just 5.5 inches, releases a bioluminescent fluid to attract prey, according to the study. It is a subspecies of the kitefin shark.

The only other known specimen of its kind was captured in the eastern Pacific Ocean in 1979 and is housed at the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. However, both are \"separate species, each from separate oceans,\" Grace said.

\"The fact that only one pocket shark has ever been reported from the Gulf of Mexico, and that it is a new species, underscores how little we know about the gulf,\" said Henry Bart, director of the Tulane Biodiversity Research Institute.

\"PHOTO:
Michael Doosey/Tulane University
PHOTO: An American Pocket Shark.
>

Both species are \"exceedingly rare,\" Grace said. Notable differences include fewer vertebrae in the shark and numerous light-producing photophores that cover much of the body in Gulf shark, but both have two small pockets that produce luminous fluid, one on each side of its gills.

Other glow-in-the-dark sharks previously discovered include the Scyliorhinus rotifer, a chain catshark, and the swell shark, which has a \"twinkling\" pattern, according to Live Science.

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