Footage of the first time that a rare deep-sea shark was caught on camera has finally been released almost six-years after it was taken.

Little is known about the Ghost Shark, also known as a Chimaera, which lives around a-mile-and-a-half beneath the ocean's surface. But it has been established that its reproductive organs are situated on its head, although scientists say it is unclear why.

"A little bit of dumb luck" led to the film being captured, Dave Ebert, program director for the Pacific Shark Research Center at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories told the National Geographic magazine, which published the footage.

He added that it was taken by a remotedly operated vehicle piloted by geologists who weren't even looking for sharks. But the creature, which are rarely seen by humans because of the extreme depths they inhabit, had swum up to the camera as they filmed off the coasts of Hawaii and California.

It is believed to be a pointy nose blue chimaera, that is usually only found in the waters of Australasia. This was the first time it was spotted in the Northern Hemisphere.

Unlike well-known shark species, such as Great Whites and Hammerheads, chimaeras don’t have hundreds of sharp teeth. Instead, they target much smaller, bottom feeding prey, and crush them using the mineral plates they have instead of teeth.

The world’s best shark diving locations Show all 10 1 /10 The world’s best shark diving locations The world’s best shark diving locations Australia There are many shark species which can be sighted off the coast of Australia, including great white sharks, grey nurse sharks and reef sharks, but Ningaloo Reef on the western side of the country offers the chance for you to get in the water with the world’s biggest fish, the whaleshark (pictured). From April to July, these massive creatures can be reliably found near the surface, gulping down huge mouthfuls of microscopic food, and this is when you can snorkel with the behemoths. The world’s best shark diving locations Great Britain The good old UK has its own world-class shark encounter, and not just any shark, but the second-largest in the world - and best of all, you don’t even have to be a diver to see them! In the summer months, huge basking sharks (pictured) appear off the coast of Cornwall and around the Isle of Man, feeding on plankton at the surface, offering a close encounter to snorkellers. The world’s best shark diving locations Mexico Mexico has several shark-diving spots up its sleeve. Guadalupe Island, which sits 150 miles west of the Baja Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the ultimate location to cage-dive with great white sharks (pictured), blessed as it is with clear blue waters and plentiful food sources. On the other side of the country, in the waters off Playa del Carmen in Cancun, you can dive with migrating female bull sharks between November and March. 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This highly distinctive shark, with its vast, rounded pectoral fins resembling airplane wings, can often be sighted off the offshore marine park islands of The Brothers, Daedalous and Elphinstone in the winter months, though they have been seen all year round. The world’s best shark diving locations South Africa Mention ‘South Africa’ and ‘sharks’ and people immediately think ‘great white sharks’, but this country offers far more than just the opportunity to cage-dive with the ultimate apex predator off Dyer Island and Geyser Rock near Gansbaai. You can also get in among packs of blacktip sharks (pictured) and ragged tooth sharks off the KwaZulu-Natal coast on the eastern side of the continent, and of course, from May to July, this is a prime location to sample the Sardine Run, when billions of sardines migrate northwards and attract hundreds of sharks, not to mention whales, dolphins and other predators Getty Images The world’s best shark diving locations Cuba Bull sharks (pictured) are one of the most-feared of all shark species, mainly because they prey in the shallows, around estuaries and even miles upstream in rivers, which means they are more likely to come into contact with humans. However, off Santa Lucia on Cuba’s northeastern shore, between August and February, divers can view these awesome predators at close range, as a local dive centre routinely hand-feeds them with scraps of fish. 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Although they are rarely seen, the shark wasn't at all camera shy, Mr Ebert said.