West Indian Lanternshark

About the West Indian Lanternshark

The X lanternshark is a species of lantern shark found in the Caribbean Sea and off the coast of Florida at depths of 400 to 800 m/1,312–2,625 ft. Like all members of the lantern shark family they’re small, with a maximum length of 31 cm/1 ft, they live in deep water, and have light-producing photophores on their body. These photophores are just bright enough to mask their silhouette and make them look invisible from below. This allows them to sneak up on prey.

They’re ovoviviparous. The embryos develop in eggs inside of the mother until they’re ready to hatch.  Very little is known about their biology

They’re caught as bycatch by deepwater fisheries, but they’re usually discarded. There aren’t any studies about their population health, but since their numbers seem to be stable, they’re considered Least Concern.

While it may occasionally be taken as discarded bycatch of some deepwater demersal fisheries, there is a general lack of deepwater fisheries in the Caribbean and this species has extensive refuge at depth. Population trend is suspected to be stable based on the low levels of fishing effort within its range. Therefore, there is nothing to infer or suspect population reduction at this time and the species is assessed as Least Concern.

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