blackbelly lanternshark
Etmopterus lucifer Jordan & Snyder, 1902
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 blackbelly lanternshark or lucifer shark (Etmopterus lucifer) is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found around the world in tropical and temperate seas at depths between 150 and 1,250 meters – the mesopelagic zone. Compared to other mesopelagic fish predators and invertebrates, the blackbelly lanternshark is thought to reside in shallower, more southern waters. E. lucifer can reach up to 47 centimeters in length and consumes mesopelagic cephalopods, fish, and crustaceans. Blackbelly lanternsharks are bioluminescent, using hormone controlled mechanisms to emit light through ventral photogenic organs called photophores and are presumed to be ovoviviparous. The blackbelly lanternshark has been classified as "Not Threatened" within the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
Wikipedia contributors, Blackbelly lanternshark; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:59:27.799324+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Etmopterus lucifer Jordan & Snyder, 1902
- Name authority
- Jordan & Snyder, 1902
- Common name
- blackbelly lanternshark
- 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 lucifer Jordan & Snyder, 1902
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Etmopterus abernethyi Garrick, 1957 Garrick, 1957 | synonym |
| Spinax lucifer (Jordan & Snyder, 1902) (Jordan & Snyder, 1902) | synonym |
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.
- Jordan, D. S., & Snyder, J. O. (1902). Descriptions of two new species of squaloid sharks from Japan. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 25 (no. 1279): 79–81. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.25-1279.79 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:3BM7T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.