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Name: Dwarf Lanternshark (Etmopterus Perryi)
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Shark type: Dogfish shark
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Family: Etmopterus
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Size: The Dwarf Lanternshark is the smallest of all known sharks. It’s size is around
6-7-8 inches (16-21 cm)
• Look: Long flattened head – 20-25% of their entire lenght, pattern of black
ventral markings and a mid-dorsal line
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Area: The Upper Continental slopes off Colombia and Venezuela
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Depth: 283–439 m (928–1,440 ft)
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The name: They got the name "Lanternshark" from light-emitting on its sides and
abdomen that allow them to glow in the darkness of the deep sea.
Its natural light show, produced by light-emitting organs called photophores, serves
many functions. The cloak of invisibility is perhaps one of the most beneficial, since it
helps to protect the small, shark from upward-looking predators.
"The photophores replace the down-welling light from the sun, which is absorbed by the
shark's body," lead author Julien Claes explained to Discovery News. "The silhouette of
the shark therefore disappears when seen from below."
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Other Lanternsharks:
 Velvet belly lanternshark (E. spinax),
 Caribbean lanternshark (E. hillianus),
 Fringefin lanternshark (E. schultzi),
 Brown lanternshark (E. unicolor),
 Broadbanded lanternshark (E. gracilispinis)
 Combtooth lanternshark (E. decacuspidatus)
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).
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.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
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 named the new species in honor of noted shark biologist Perry W. Gilbert.
Distribution and habitat
The Dwarf lanternshark has only been reported from a small area of the Caribbean Sea off
the coasts of Colombia and Venezuela, occurring between Barranquilla and Santa Marta,
near the Guajira Peninsula, and between the Los Testigos Islands and Grenada. This shark
apparently inhabits the upper continental slope at a depth of 283–439 m (928–1,440 ft).
Description
The Dwarf lanternshark has a long, wide, flattened head comprising a fourth to a fifth of its
total length.
The eyes are large, twice as long as high, with the anterior and posterior corners acute.
The nares are large and preceded by poorly developed flaps of skin.
There are 25–32 tooth rows in the upper jaw and 30–34 tooth rows in the lower jaw.
The trunk is short, with two relatively closely spaced, large dorsal fins bearing grooved
spines in front.
The skin is densely covered by thin, needle-like dermal denticles in a random pattern,
except for the lips and the tips of the fins.
This shark is dark brown with a striking and distinctive pattern of black markings on its
ventral surface, a continuous or broken, fine black line along the middle of its back.