Common Name
Lined Lanternshark
Year Described
Bigelow & Schroeder, 1957
Identification
This lanternshark is fairly slender with a fairly long snout (longer than mouth width but slightly shorter than the distance from mouth to pectoral origin). Anterior nasal flap is short. There are two dorsal fins, the second being larger than the first. Distance between them is less than the snout-gill distance. Both have a spine on the anterior margin. First dorsal originates over the rear margin of the pectoral fin. Pectoral fin is rounded and small. Anal fin is absent. Pelvic fins originate anterior to the second dorsal. Caudal fin is fairly long (less than distance from snout to rear pectoral edge). Rear margins of fins lack fringes. Teeth in lower jaw are broader than the upper jaw. Upper jaw teeth are narrow with median cusps and 2 pairs of lateral cusplets. The cusps on the lower jaw teeth are oblique, with a lateral blade. Upper jaw: 18-20 teeth; lower jaw: 27-31 teeth. Very short gill slits. Denticles in longitudinal rows with a slender, hooked crown. Denticles present on snout.
Color
Dark sooty gray with a black underside. Area around base of pelvic and caudal fin black. Light area on dorsal midline between eye and first dorsal fin.
Size
Mature adults unknown. Immature individuals from 16-26 cm.
Habitat
Benthic on continental slopes, at depths of 275-824 m. (mostly under 350 m.). Poorly known.
Range
A western Atlantic species found from Cape Hatteras, NC to the Straights of Florida and west to the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Also, the Caribbean Sea off Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Colombia, Jamaica, and the Lesser Antilles.
References
Castro, J.I. 2011. The Sharks of North America. Oxford University Press, 640 pp.
Compagno, L., M. Dando, and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, 480 pp.