SHARK ALERT: A new species of lanternshark is discovered!!
Named Laila's Lanternshark (Etmopterus lailae) after Laila Mostello-Wetherbee, shark enthusiast and daughter of coauthor Brad Wetherbee, is described from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, in the central North Pacific Ocean.
The new species resembles other members of the “Etmopterus lucifer” clade in having linear rows of dermal denticles, and most closely resembles lucifer shark E. lucifer from Japan. The Laila's Lanternshark occurs along insular slopes around seamounts at depths between 314–384 m.
The lanternsharks (genus Etmopterus) is one of the most species rich shark genera with approximately 38 species, of which 11 have been described since 2002. Their name comes from the presence of light-producing photophores on their bodies.
Photo: An immature male, sadly the only one photo available of this new species.
Reference: Ebert et al., 2017 Etmopterus lailae sp. nov., a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Zootaxa, 4237 (2): 371–382