Dwarf lanternshark
| Dwarf lanternshark | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Squaliformes |
| Family: | Etmopteridae |
| Genus: | Etmopterus |
| Species: | E. perryi |
| Binomial name | |
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Etmopterus perryi (S. Springer & G. H. Burgess, 1985) |
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| Range of the dwarf lanternshark | |
The dwarf lanternshark (Etmopterus perryi) is a little-known species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae and possibly the smallest shark in the world, reaching a maximum known length of 21.2 cm (8.3 in). It is known to be present only on the upper continental slopes off Colombia and Venezuela, at a depth of 283–439 m (928–1,440 ft). This species can be identified by its small size at maturity, long flattened head, and pattern of black ventral markings and a mid-dorsal line. Like other members of its genus, it is capable of producing light from a distinctive array of photophores. Reproduction is aplacental viviparous, with females gestating two or three young at a time. The dwarf lanternshark is not significant to commercial fisheries, but could be threatened by mortality from bycatch; the degree of impact from human activities on its population is unknown.
American ichthyologists Stewart Springer and George H. Burgess described the dwarf lanternshark from specimens collected via trawling by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service research ship Oregon in 1964. They dubbed the new species in honor of noted shark biologist Perry W. Gilbert, and published their findings in a 1985 Copeia paper. The type specimen is a 18.2 cm (7.2 in) long female caught in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Colombia. This species is grouped with the velvet belly lantern shark (E. spinax), Caribbean lanternshark (E. hillianus), fringefin lanternshark (E. schultzi), brown lanternshark (E. unicolor), broadbanded lanternshark (E. gracilispinis), and combtooth lanternshark (E. decacuspidatus) in having irregularly arranged, needle-shaped dermal denticles.
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Wikipedia