Researchers made shocking 'first-ever' discovery when dropping baited GoPro into deep ocean

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.”