Etmopterus benchleyi Vásquez, Ebert & Long, 2015
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The ninja lanternshark (Etmopterus benchleyi) is of the family Etmopteridae, found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Nicaragua, south to Panama and Costa Rica. The depth range of collections is from 836 to 1443 meters along the continental slope. E. benchleyi is the only Etmopterus species presently known from the Pacific Coast of Central America.
Wikipedia contributors, Ninja lanternshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:30:27.864601+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Etmopterus benchleyi Vásquez, Ebert & Long, 2015
- Name authority
- Vásquez, Ebert & Long, 2015
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Squaliformes
- Family
- Etmopteridae
- Genus
- Etmopterus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassSelachii
- superorderSqualomorphi
- orderSqualiformes Compagno, 1973
- familyEtmopteridae Fowler, 1934
- genusEtmopterus Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesEtmopterus benchleyi Vásquez, Ebert & Long, 2015
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Etmopterus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Etmopterus alphus Ebert, Straube, Leslie & Weigmann, 2016 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blurred lantern sharkEtmopterus bigelowi Shirai & Tachikawa, 1993 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus burgessi Schaaf-Da Silva & Ebert, 2006 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus caudistigmus Last, Burgess & Séret, 2002 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus evansi Last, Burgess & Séret, 2002 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| southern lanternsharkEtmopterus granulosus (Günther, 1880) | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus joungi Knuckey, Ebert & Burgess, 2011 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Laila’s lanternsharkEtmopterus lailae Ebert, Papastamatiou, Kajiura & Wetherbee, 2017 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Etmopterus pseudosqualiolus Last, Burgess & Séret, 2002 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus samadiae White, Ebert, Mana & Corrigan, 2017 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus schultzi Bigelow, Schroeder & Springer, 1953 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Etmopterus sculptus Ebert, Compagno & De Vries, 2011 | EtmopteridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Vásquez, V. E., Ebert, D. A., & Long, D. J. (2015). Etmopterus benchleyi n. sp., a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the central eastern Pacific Ocean. J. Ocean Sci. Foundation, 17: 43–55. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BM6Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.