Common Name
Cylindrical Lanternshark
Year Described
Springer & Burgess, 1985
Identification
This tiny lanternshark is fairly slender with a very short, blunt snout. Head is semi-cylindrical, being nearly as wide as deep. Body tapers into a very long and narrow caudal peduncle. Eye fairly large. 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 lobate 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. Gill slits broad. Dermal denticles very small and needle-like, covering almost entire body.
Color
Uniform blackish above and below. Body photophores are diffuse and are not concentrated in black patches on body. Fins have pale webs.
Size
Very small. Mature adults ~18 cm. Maximum size 21 cm.
Habitat
Benthic or epipelagic on upper continental slopes, at depths of 283-356 m. Poorly known.
Range
A western Atlantic species only captured to date on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.
References
Compagno, L., M. Dando, and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, 480 pp.