Etmopterus is a genus of lantern sharks in the squaliform family Etmopteridae. They are found in deep sea ecosystems of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Ecology
A number of species in this genus function as host to the specialized parasitic barnacle Anelasma squalicola, which embeds itself into the skin of the shark and extracts nutrients from its bloodstream.
Species
There are currently 45 recognized species in this genus:
- Etmopterus alphus <small>Ebert, Straube, Leslie & Weigmann, 2016</small> (whitecheek lanternshark)
- Etmopterus baxteri <small>Garrick, 1957</small> (New Zealand lanternshark)
- Etmopterus benchleyi <small>Vásquez, Ebert & D. J. Long, 2015</small> (ninja lanternshark)
- Etmopterus bigelowi <small>Shirai & Tachikawa, 1993</small> (blurred lanternshark)
- Etmopterus brachyurus <small>H. M. Smith & Radcliffe, 1912</small> (short-tail lanternshark)
- Etmopterus brosei <small>Ebert, Leslie & Weigmann, 2021</small> (Barrie's lanternshark)
- Etmopterus bullisi <small>Bigelow & Schroeder, 1957</small>
- Etmopterus burgessi <small>Schaaf-Da Silva & Ebert, 2006</small>
- Etmopterus carteri <small>S. Springer & G. H. Burgess, 1985</small> (cylindrical lanternshark)
- Etmopterus caudistigmus <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small> (tail-spot lanternshark)
- Etmopterus compagnoi <small>R. Fricke & Koch, 1990</small>
- Etmopterus decacuspidatus <small>W. L. Y. Chan, 1966</small> (comb-tooth lanternshark)
- Etmopterus dianthus <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small> (pink lanternshark)
- Etmopterus dislineatus <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small>
- Etmopterus evansi <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small> (black-mouth lanternshark)
- Etmopterus fusus <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small> (pygmy lanternshark)
- Etmopterus gracilispinis <small>G. Krefft, 1968</small> (broad-banded lanternshark)
- Etmopterus granulosus <small>(Günther, 1880)</small> (southern lanternshark)
- Etmopterus hillianus <small>(Poey, 1861)</small> (Caribbean lanternshark)
- Etmopterus joungi <small>Knuckey, Ebert & G. H. Burgess, 2011</small> (short-fin smooth lanternshark)
- Etmopterus lailae <small>Ebert, Papastamatiou, Kajiura & Wetherbee, 2017</small> (Laila's lanternshark)
- Etmopterus litvinovi <small>Parin & Kotlyar, 1990</small> (small-eye lanternshark)
- Etmopterus lucifer <small>D. S. Jordan & Snyder, 1902</small> (black-belly lanternshark)
- Etmopterus marshae <small>Ebert & Van Hees</small> (Marsha's lanternshark)
- Etmopterus molleri <small>(Whitley, 1939)</small> (Moller's lanternshark or also Slendertail lanternshark)
- Etmopterus perryi <small>S. Springer & G. H. Burgess, 1985</small> (dwarf lanternshark)
- Etmopterus polli <small>Bigelow, Schroeder & S. Springer, 1953</small> (African lanternshark)
- Etmopterus princeps <small>Collett, 1904</small> (great lanternshark)
- Etmopterus pseudosqualiolus <small>Last, G. H. Burgess & Séret, 2002</small> (false lanternshark)
- Etmopterus pusillus <small>(R. T. Lowe, 1839)</small> (smooth lanternshark)
- Etmopterus pycnolepis <small>Kotlyar, 1990</small> (dense-scale lanternshark)
- Etmopterus robinsi <small>Schofield & G. H. Burgess, 1997</small> (West Indian lanternshark)
- Etmopterus samadiae <small>W. T. White, Ebert, Mana & Corrigan, 2017</small> (Papuan lanternshark)
- Etmopterus schultzi <small>Bigelow, Schroeder & S. Springer, 1953</small> (fringe-fin lanternshark)
- Etmopterus sculptus <small>Ebert, Compagno & De Vries, 2011</small> (sculpted lanternshark)
- Etmopterus sentosus <small>Bass, D'Aubrey & Kistnasamy, 1976</small> (thorny lanternshark)
- Etmopterus sheikoi <small>(Dolganov, 1986)</small> (rasp-tooth dogfish)
- Etmopterus spinax <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> (velvet-belly lanternshark)
- Etmopterus splendidus <small>Ka. Yano, 1988</small> (splendid lanternshark)
- Etmopterus unicolor <small>(Engelhardt, 1912)</small> (bristled lanternshark)
- Etmopterus viator <small>Straube, 2011</small> (traveller lanternshark)
- Etmopterus villosus <small>C. H. Gilbert, 1905</small> (Hawaiian lanternshark)
- Etmopterus virens <small>Bigelow, Schroeder & S. Springer, 1953</small> (green lanternshark)
- Etmopterus westraliensis <small>Ng, White, Liu & Joung 2025</small>
Extinct species
There are at least two extinct species found in Etmopterus.
See also
References