![]() Sexual maturity of dwarf lantern sharks depends on the body length. This led to the assumption that the luminescent materials are transferred to the offspring from the mother. The young sharks are bioluminescent before they are born, because the yolk sac is florescent even before any photophores are formed. The young hatch from eggs within the mother’s body and are nourished by a yolk sac until birth. They generally have a low rate of reproduction giving birth to 2 to 3 pups at a time. They have a viviparous mode of reproduction, that is, their eggs hatch within the female. However, they can be accidentally captured during a big fishing operation in the ocean. Because of their small size, dwarf lantern sharks are not on the target of fishermen. ![]() It lives at a depth of 1000 to 1500 feet near the coast of South America. This shark has only been discovered in the Caribbean Sea. ![]() The Dwarf lantern shark is the smallest of the seven known species of lantern sharks. Habitatīecause the fish is rarely found on the surface of the water, it is believed they resided in the deepest parts of the ocean, majorly in the benthic zone. These photophores and chromatophores help the fish in adapting to the environment, as the photophores are used for camouflage during feeding in shallow waters to escape the attention of predators, as well as in attracting smaller fish to feed upon. The Dwarf lantern shark like other members of the shark family is a carnivore that basically feeds on Krill, shrimp, zooplankton, as well as smaller fish. The ventral side of the fish’s body is covered with black markings, and some of these markings (photophores) glows, and another marking on the pelvic fin emit chromatophores that assist the fish in blending into its environment. Among the dwarf lantern shark, the female species are generally bigger than the males. The dwarf lantern shark teeth are designed for cutting and slicing. The total number of teeth of the dwarf lantern shark is between 50 and 57, that is, it has between 20 to 23 teeth in the upper jaw, and 30 to 34 teeth in the lower jaw. ![]() The dwarf lantern shark is generally dark brown in the dorsal region, while the ventral region color is a velvety black that is bioluminescent. Also, it has big bulbous eyes that enable it to navigate in the dark environment under the sea. The biggest part of its body is a flattened head that occupies about one-third of the entire body. Due to this small length, it is possible to place the dwarf lantern shark on the palm. The whole length of the dwarf lantern fish is between 6 to 8 inches in length (with some claimed to grow up to 18 inches), the young sharks can be as small as 2.2 to 2.4 inches at birth. The scientific name of this fish species is Etmopterus perryi derived from a notable shark expert Perry Gilbert.ĭwarf lantern shark fish is an exceedingly small fish when compared to other fish species in the dogfish family. Dwarf lantern sharks are often targeted by parasites which shorten the lifespan of these creatures. The dwarf lantern shark belongs to the dog shark family ‘etmopteridae,’ and is the smallest species in this family. The lifespan of the dwarf lantern shark is estimated between 20-30 years. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the dwarf lantern shark has been labeled as data deficient, meaning there is not enough research on this species of fish to adequately assess their status. It is unknown if they are an endangered species. They rarely swim out of their ecological niche under the sea between depths of 6 feet, which makes the species difficult to catch and observe. The Dwarf lantern shark was recently discovered in 1964. The name of the shark comes from the fact that they are a small (dwarf) shark and are bioluminescent (lantern) in the dark environment of the deep sea level (Benthic zone) where they dwell. The dwarf lantern shark is among the smallest species of fish in the world. Dwarf lantern shark (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
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