midnight zone sea creatures dwarf lantern shark

In the South Atlantic, this shark also inhabits the open ocean from the surface to a depth of 708 m (2,323 ft). Catch data off southern Portugal suggest this species has a preference for rocky substrates, and may conduct a diel vertical migration. Smooth lanternsharks are usually found on or near the bottom on continental and insular shelves and slopes at depths of 274–1,000 m (899–3,281 ft), and possibly to as deep as 1,998 m (6,555 ft). In the Pacific Ocean, it has been reported from the East China Sea to southern Japan, in the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain area, off Australia and New Zealand, and over the Nazca Plate (including the Amber Seamount and off Isla Salas y Gómez). In the Indian Ocean, it is found off KwaZulu-Natal and Madagascar. In the Atlantic Ocean, the smooth lanternshark occurs from the Gulf of Mexico to Argentina in the west, Portugal to South Africa (including Cape Verde and the Azores) in the east, and on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. bigelowi) these two species are distinguished from other lantern sharks by their irregularly arranged, truncated (ending in a flat crown as though the tip were cut off) dermal denticles. The smooth lanternshark forms a species group with the blurred lanternshark ( E. The specific epithet pusillus means 'weak' in Latin. This species was later moved to the genus Etmopterus. The first scientific description of the smooth lanternshark, as Acanthidium pusillum, was published by British biologist Richard Thomas Lowe, in an 1839 issue of the scientific journal Transactions of the Zoological Society of London. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has evaluated this species as of Least Concern because of its wide distribution and limited threats.Įarly illustration of a smooth lanternshark, from A history of the fishes of Madeira (1843). Smooth lanternsharks are often caught as bycatch in eastern Atlantic and Japanese commercial fisheries. This slow-growing, ovoviviparous shark feeds on smaller squid, fishes, and fish eggs. This species has a slender, dark brown body with an indistinct black band on the sides over the pelvic fins, and reaches 50 cm (20 in) in length. bigelowi), both of which are distinguished from other members of their family by small, irregularly arranged dermal denticles with a truncated shape. The smooth lanternshark forms a species group with the larger blurred lanternshark ( E. It inhabits benthic environments at a depth of 274–1,000 m (899–3,281 ft), and pelagic environments at a depth of 0–708 m (0–2,323 ft). The smooth lanternshark or slender lanternshark ( Etmopterus pusillus) is a species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae, found widely in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Etmopterus frontimaculatus Pietschmann, 1907

Midnight zone sea creatures dwarf lantern shark