Southern lanternshark

Etmopterus granulosus

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth676–1,135 m
Water temperature4–28 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and July
How commonCommon

About this species

The southern lanternshark is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found in the southeast Pacific between latitudes 29°S and 59°S, at depths of between 220 and 1,460 m. This species has been found off Northland, off the Chatham Islands, on the Campbell Plateau, all in New Zealand waters. Its length is up to 60 cm. Reproduction is ovoviviparous, with 10 to 13 pups in a litter, length at birth about 18 cm. They exhibit bioluminescence.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Southern lanternshark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 56 records
February: 29 records
March: 40 records
April: 31 records
May: 18 records
June: 9 records
July: 58 records
August: 16 records
September: 3 records
October: 10 records
November: 11 records
December: 21 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 676–1,135 m · Deepest record: 3,821.5 m

220–230 m: 1 records
230–240 m: 0 records
240–250 m: 0 records
250–260 m: 2 records
260–270 m: 0 records
270–280 m: 1 records
280–290 m: 0 records
290–300 m: 0 records
300–310 m: 3 records
310–320 m: 1 records
320–330 m: 0 records
330+ m: 9,428 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 4–28 °C

2–4 °C: 1 records
4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 7 records
8–10 °C: 83 records
10–12 °C: 260 records
12–14 °C: 174 records
14–16 °C: 357 records
16–18 °C: 58 records
18–20 °C: 16 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

English: Southern lanternshark, Baxter's Dogfish, Giant Lanternshark, Lucifer, Lucifer, Southern lanternshark, southern lanternshark, southern laternshark

Names in 4 more languages

German: Neuseeländischer Laternenhai, Südlicher Laternenhai
Spanish: Gata, Tiburón Linterna del Sur, Tollo Lucero
French: Sagre à long nez, Sagre long nez, Sagre porte-feu
Japanese: トゲニセカラスザメ

Other scientific names: Etmopterus baxteri, Etmopterus tasmaniensis, Spinax granulosus

Similar species

Velvet belly
Etmopterus spinax
Blackbelly lanternshark
Etmopterus lucifer
Great lanternshark
Etmopterus princeps
Black-bellied Deep-sea Dogifsh
Etmopterus molleri
Slender lanternshark
Etmopterus pusillus
Blurred lantern shark
Etmopterus bigelowi

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
9,653 open-data records from 1970 to 2024.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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