Blackbelly dogfish

Etmopterus hillianus

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth338–1,000 m
Water temperature9–28 °C
Best monthsOctober, November, and December
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) NOAANMFSMississippi Laboratory, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The Caribbean lanternshark is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found in the eastern and western Atlantic at depths between 180 and 720 m. Its length is up to 50 cm.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 1 records
February: 2 records
March: 1 records
April: 0 records
May: 5 records
June: 5 records
July: 3 records
August: 4 records
September: 3 records
October: 6 records
November: 6 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 338–1,000 m · Deepest record: 1,050 m

30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110–120 m: 0 records
120–130 m: 0 records
130–140 m: 0 records
140+ m: 52 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–28 °C

8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 14 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 2 records
26–28 °C: 38 records
28–30 °C: 4 records

Names and classification

English: Blackbelly dogfish, blackbelly dogfish, Caribbean lanternshark

Names in 4 more languages

German: Karibischer Laternenhai
Spanish: galludo enano, Tollo Lucero Antillano
French: Sagre Antillais
Japanese: カリブカラスザメ

Other scientific names: Spinax hillianus

Similar species

Velvet belly
Etmopterus spinax
Southern lanternshark
Etmopterus granulosus
Blackbelly lanternshark
Etmopterus lucifer
Great lanternshark
Etmopterus princeps
Black-bellied Deep-sea Dogifsh
Etmopterus molleri
Slender lanternshark
Etmopterus pusillus

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).
69 open-data records from 1886 to 1987.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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