Written by Tadashi
Modified & Updated: 11 Oct 2024
Reviewed by Jessica Corbett
When people hear the word shark, it’s usually the most famous, or infamous, ones that come to mind. These include the Great White Shark, the Speartooth Shark, or even the Tiger Shark. But sharks come in so many shapes and sizes, which isn’t really a surprise, considering how old they are. In fact, they’re even older than the dinosaurs, and have survived what the dinosaurs couldn’t. So let us tell you about these humble animals, with these 30 Dwarf Lantern Shark facts.
- 01Dwarf lantern sharks usually only grow up to a maximum of 20 cm long.
- 02The biggest of their kind ever discovered managed to grow up to 21 cm long.
- 03Their weight barely reaches 900 grams.
- 04Their heads make up a fifth of their whole bodies.
- 05They have up to 32 teeth on their upper jaws, and up to 34 teeth on their lower jaws.
- 01Ichthyologists Steward Springer and George Burgess first discovered the dwarf lantern shark in 1964.
- 02They caught their first specimen of the species while doing research on the science ship Oregon.
- 03The said specimen measured an estimated 18 cm long.
- 04The Oregon caught said specimen while operating in the Caribbean Sea off the Colombian coast.
- 05They gave it the scientific name of Etmopterus perryi after biologist Perry Gilbert.
- 06However, they only published their studies on the species in 1985.
- 07Dwarf lantern sharks feed on a diet composed mainly of krill, shrimp, and zooplankton.
- 08Scientists estimate their lifespan at between 20 and 30 years.
- 09Most specimens today get caught as bycatch by commercial fishing boats.
- 10Other specimens also get caught completely by accident by deep-sea fishermen.
- 01Most scientists agree that the dwarf lantern shark counts as the smallest shark in the world.
- 02Females of the species tend to grow larger than males.
- 03The species falls under the family Etmopteridae in the order of Squaliformes.
- 04They also fall under the class Chondrichthyes and phylum Chordata of the Animal Kingdom.
- 05The species has no economic value.
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