Common Name
Southern Lanternshark
Year Described
Gunther, 1880
Identification
This lanternshark is fairly stout with a fairly long snout (longer than mouth width but slightly shorter than the distance from mouth to pectoral origin). Caudal peduncle is short. Anterior nasal flap is short. There are two dorsal fins, the second being larger than the first. Distance between them is slightly 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 with a squared-off rear edge. Anal fin is absent. Pelvic fins originate anterior to the second dorsal. Caudal fin is fairly long (equal to the distance from snout to pectoral base) and broad. 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 3 or fewer pairs of lateral cusplets. The cusps on the lower jaw teeth are oblique, with a lateral blade. Very short gill slits. Denticles stout with a slender, hooked crown; in random order on head above pectorals but in longitudinal rows on the trunk/tail. Snout bare except for patches of denticles on either side.
Color
Blackish brown above with a black underside to the head and abdomen. Black markings around pelvic fin base and caudal fin base.
Size
Immature males from 26-38 cm. Mature individuals to >60 cm. Maximum size unknown.
Habitat
Outer continental shelf and upper slope from 220-637 m. Captured off Brazil in an epibenthic tow (Soto, 2001).
Range
Found in the western South Atlantic from southern Argentina to the Straights of Magellan and the Falkland Islands. Reported from deep waters off Brazil (Soto, 2001). Also in southeast Pacific.
References
Compagno, L., M. Dando, and S. Fowler. 2005. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press, 480 pp.
Soto, J. M. 2001. First record of southern lanternshark Etmopterus granulosus (Günther, 1880) (Squaliformes, Dalatiidae), in Brazilian coast. Mare Magnum, v.1, n. 1, p. 7–10.