The white ghost catshark (Apristurus aphyodes) is a shark of the catshark family Scyliorhinidae found in deep water in the northeast Atlantic between latitudes 57°N and 58°N. A deep-water catshark known from the eastern North Atlantic from depths of 1,014 to 1,800 m, it is known from only a limited number of specimens. It reaches a maximum of 54 cm or 1.7 ft total length which is a medium size for the Apristurus genus. Description and morphology The white ghost catshark has a slender and cylindrical body with a relatively long and flattened snout. It is distinguished from the other 10 North Atlantic Apristurus species by the following. It has a uniform whitish coloration and large oval eyes with a weak subocular fold. Its snout is bell shaped and contains numerous visible pores making up ampullae of Lorenzini on the dorsal and ventral side of the snout. Its preorbital snout length (where the snout intersects its eyes) equals half of its head length. Aphyodes has elliptical ampullae patterns on the ventral midline of the snout and a slender elliptical patch on the dorsal side. Aphyodes has a strongly arched mouth with well developed labial furrows (grooves around the lips) with its upper labial furrows shorter than its lower labial furrows. Aphyodes's spiracle is small and located slightly below the horizontal axis of its eyes. It has five small gill openings the smallest of which is located above its pectoral fin. Aphyodes has widely spaced pectoral and pelvic fins with their interspace about equal to the length of its head. Its pectoral fins are small, narrow and sub quadrangular(almost quadrilateral). In contrast their pelvic fins are more normal in proportion to their body size. The catshark's dorsal fins are unequal in size and unlike most sharks its first dorsal fin is smaller than its second dorsal fin. Its first dorsal fin starts above the anterior half of the pelvic base and ends in the interspace between its pelvic and anal fins. The second dorsal fin's origin is above the middle of the anal base and ends slightly before the anal fins. Aphyodes's anal and caudal fins are only separated by a distinct subterminal notch on the caudal fin. The caudal fin itself is slender and short and its lower anterior corner is slightly expanded. Its claspers are short but robust and portions are covered in dermal denticles. The reproductive organ lacks