Common Name
West Indian Lanternshark
Year Described
Schofield and Burgess, 1997
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). Body tapering into slender caudal peduncle. Anterior nasal flap is short. There are two dorsal fins, the second being slightly 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 above rear free tip of pectoral fin, about equidistant from pectoral and pelvic base. Pectoral fin is small and squared off. Anal fin is absent. Pelvic fins originate anterior to the second dorsal. Caudal fin is fairly short (about equal to head length). Rear margins of fins lack fringes with the exception of pectoral fin. Pectoral fringe is mostly connected with fin web. Teeth in lower jaw are broader than the upper jaw. Upper jaw teeth are narrow with median cusps and <3 pairs of lateral cusplets. The lower jaw teeth are bandlike, with low, oblique cusps and lateral blades. Upper jaw: ? teeth; lower jaw: ? teeth. Gill slits relatively large and equally sized. Denticles are randomly spaced with thin, hooked crowns. Denticles present on snout.
Color
Dark brown to blackish-brown with a black belly. Elongated black markings around pelvic fin base (extending forward and rearward) and around caudal fin base. Pale spot on top of head. Eye green.
Size
Maximum size to 31cm TL for males and 34cm TL for females. Matures around 26cm TL.
Habitat
Over continental slopes from 412-787m.
Range
Scattered records off Florida, the Caribbean Sea, and off Central America.
References
Ebert, D. A., Dando, M., & S. Fowler. 2021. Sharks of the World. Princeton University Press. 607 pp.