Great lanternshark

Etmopterus princeps

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth270–1,720 m
Water temperature8–28 °C
Best monthsJuly and August
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Tambja, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The great lanternshark is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found in the northeast and northwest Atlantic. Its name was given because, at the time of its discovery, it was thought to be bioluminescent, but this has been challenged.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Great 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: 0 records
February: 3 records
March: 13 records
April: 5 records
May: 17 records
June: 3 records
July: 102 records
August: 115 records
September: 19 records
October: 5 records
November: 2 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 270–1,720 m · Deepest record: 3,650 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 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+ m: 59 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–28 °C

6–8 °C: 4 records
8–10 °C: 13 records
10–12 °C: 156 records
12–14 °C: 20 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 21 records
18–20 °C: 24 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 11 records
26–28 °C: 6 records

Names and classification

English: Great lanternshark, Greater lantern-shark, Rough sagre, greater lantern-shark, Greater lantern shark, great lanternshark, rough sagre

Names in 4 more languages

German: Großer Dornhai, großer schwarzer Dornhai
Spanish: tollo linterna grande, Tollo lucero, Tollo Lucero Raspa
French: Rough Sagre, sagre rude, Sagre rude
Japanese: Futokarasuzame, フトカラスザメ

Similar species

Velvet belly
Etmopterus spinax
Southern lanternshark
Etmopterus granulosus
Blackbelly lanternshark
Etmopterus lucifer
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).
2,041 open-data records from 1956 to 2022.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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