Etmopteridae

Lantern sharks
Velvet belly lantern shark, Etmopterus spinax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Squaliformes
Family: Etmopteridae
Fowler, 1934

Etmopteridae is a family of sharks in the order Squaliformes, commonly known as lantern sharks. Their name comes from the presence of light-producing photophores on their bodies. The members of this family are small, under 90 cm (35 in) long, and are found in deep waters worldwide.[1] There are 45 species in five genera. Three-quarters of the species are in the genus Etmopterus.

Genera

References

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). "Etmopteridae" in FishBase. February 2011 version.