West Indian lanternshark

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West Indian lanternshark

Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Dalatiidae
Genus: Etmopterus
Species: E. robinsi
Binomial name
Etmopterus robinsi
Schofield & Burgess, 1997
Range of the West Indian lanternshark (in blue)
Range of the West Indian lanternshark (in blue)

The West Indian lanternshark, Etmopterus robinsi, is a shark of the family Dalatiidae found in the western central Atlantic off northeastern Florida and the Straits of Florida, south to the offings of Nicaragua, Hispaniola, and the northern Lesser Antilles, at depths of between 400 and 800 m. Its length is up to 31 cm.

The West Indian lanternshark is a stout species with large eyes and a moderately long tail. There are slender, hooked, widely spaced denticles on the sides and snout. It is found on the outermost continental shelves and upper slopes.

Coloration is grey or dark brown above, becoming much darker ventrally with conspicuous black markings above and behind the pelvic fins and on the caudal peduncle.

Reproduction is ovoviviparous.

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