Species: Etmopterus pusillus, Smooth Lantern Shark
D1 spine < D1 base

Etmopterus pusillus (Lowe, 1839)
Smooth Lantern Shark
Body slender; head and snout flattened, short, thick, at level of eyes head is wider than deep; snout short, thick, flat, broadly rounded; no nictitating eyelids; spiracle large, behind eye; mouth short, at acute angle; upper teeth with a long, central point plus generally 2 (female)-4 (male) smaller points on each side, 23-31 rows, lower teeth compressed and blade-like, with small, oblique tips that do not become more erect in large fish, particularly males, 30-53 rows; five gill slits, all before pectoral base, relatively long; two dorsal fins, second bigger than first, both with long thick grooved spines; first dorsal located behind pectorals, distance from pectoral axil to 1st dorsal >1/3 interdorsal space, center of first dorsal nearer pectoral fin axil than origin of pelvics; 1st dorsal spine short, slender, < 1st dorsal base; pectoral small, rounded to angular; no anal fin; no ridges between pectoral and pelvic fins, no precaudal pits, no keel on tail base; tail short, broad tail fin strongly asymmetrical, notch at top; denticles on sides of body without points, block-like, wide-spaced, not arranged in rows, skin smooth.
Dark brown to blackish, a little darker below; a small white blotch between eyes; fins with light edges; conspicuous dark areas on side of head, above & behind pelvic fin, at lower origin of tail fin, on underside of pectoral; luminescent organs visible as black dots and streaks on underside of head and body.
Size: 50 cm.
Habitat: Outer continental shelf and upper slopes; partly epipelagic in open ocean.
Depth: 0-1998 m.
Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico; records from the Indo-Pacific may be another species.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Offshore
- Offshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom + water column
- Mid Water
- Near Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Water column
- FishBase Habitat
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- Bentho-Pelagic
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Sharks/rays
- Bony fishes
- Octopus/squid/cuttlefish
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Live birth
- No pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- Transatlantic (East+West Atlantic)
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent only
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 50
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 1998