Uncovering the mysterious deepwater catshark The Western Australia Museum and the Australian National Fish Collection from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) both have collections of fish samples where the egg cases were discovered. The strange, rigid structure of the egg cases fascinated the scientists. They discovered that the unidentified samples matched those of an in-storage deceased, pregnant female shark specimen with identical eggs. The specimen was taken from water more than 1,800 feet (550 meters) deep off the coast of northwest Australia.