Fish
Lanternshark
Etmopterus spinax · also called velvet belly lanternshark
Matching the faint light filtering down from far above, a lanternshark glows softly from rows of photophores along its belly, erasing its own outline from the predators patrolling the darkness beneath it.
Overview
The lanternshark, Etmopterus spinax, is a small, bioluminescent shark native to deep ocean habitat across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its counter-illumination camouflage, compact size, and velvety dark skin make it one of the more subtly specialised predators found anywhere in the deep sea.
Light used to disappear, not attract
Unlike deep-sea predators that use glowing lures to draw prey closer, the lanternshark’s light serves the opposite purpose, blending its silhouette into the faint glow from above so that predators below cannot pick it out against the water.
Status
Least Concern overall, though populations have declined in parts of their range due to bycatch in deep-sea fishing operations.
Lanternshark: common questions
Why does the lanternshark glow?
This species has rows of light-producing photophores along its underside that match the faint light filtering down from the ocean surface, a form of counter-illumination camouflage that erases its silhouette from predators looking upward from below.
How big does the lanternshark get?
This species is one of the smaller shark species in the world, considerably more compact than the large sharks most people picture when they think of a shark.
Does the lanternshark lay eggs?
No, this species gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs, a reproductive strategy shared with many other deep-sea shark species.
Where does the lanternshark live?
This species is native to deep ocean habitat across the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, typically found along continental slopes.