DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Slender lanternshark
Etmopterus pusillus
- Usual depth400–936 m
- Water temperature9–29 °C
- Best monthsApril, May, and June
- How commonOccasional
About this species
The smooth lanternshark or slender lanternshark is a species of dogfish shark in the family Etmopteridae, found widely in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It inhabits benthic environments at a depth of 274–1,000 m (899–3,281 ft), and pelagic environments at a depth of 0–708 m (0–2,323 ft). The smooth lanternshark forms a species group with the larger blurred lanternshark, both of which are distinguished from other members of their family by small, irregularly arranged dermal denticles with a truncated shape. This species has a slender, dark brown body with an indistinct black band on the sides over the pelvic fins, and reaches 50 cm (20 in) in length. This slow-growing, ovoviviparous shark feeds on smaller squid, fishes, and fish eggs. Smooth lanternsharks are often caught as bycatch in eastern Atlantic and Japanese commercial fisheries. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has evaluated this species as of Least Concern because of its wide distribution and limited threats.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Smooth 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: 33 records
- February: 11 records
- March: 15 records
- April: 84 records
- May: 129 records
- June: 93 records
- July: 13 records
- August: 16 records
- September: 18 records
- October: 35 records
- November: 28 records
- December: 5 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 400–936 m · Deepest record: 3,650 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 9–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Slender lanternshark, Smooth lantern shark, Smooth lanternshark, smooth lantern shark, smooth lanternshark
Names in 5 more languages
- German
- Glatt-Dornhai, glatter schwarzer Dornhai
- Spanish
- tollo linterna liso, Tollo Lucero Liso
- French
- Sagre nain
- Japanese
- Karasuzame, カラスザメ
- Simplified Chinese
- 小烏鯊, 布希勒燈籠棘鮫, 黑沙
Other scientific names: Acanthidium pusillum, Centrina nigra, Etmopterus frontimaculatus, Etmopterus pusilus
Similar species
Velvet bellyEtmopterus spinax
- Southern lanternshark
Etmopterus granulosus
- Blackbelly lanternshark
Etmopterus lucifer
Great lanternsharkEtmopterus princeps
- Black-bellied Deep-sea Dogifsh
Etmopterus molleri
Blurred lantern sharkEtmopterus 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).
- 722 open-data records from 1901 to 2022.
- Species data updated November 2, 2026.
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