Scientists are trying to unveil the mystery of a lanternshark, found recently off the Central American coastline in Pacific Ocean waters. It is so small that certain features of the frail fish can only be seen through a microscope.
According to foxnews.com, the expedition team making the discovery say other than the shark’s size, about 20 inches and its tendency to glow, little else is known about it. The presumption is that like other lanternsharks, this one survives by eating smaller fish.
It has been name Etmopterus benchleyi, “in honor of shark conservationist and ‘Jaws’ author, Peter Benchley.” Its body, is jet black and has teeth that are glass like, with emerald eyes leads the team to believe it lives in “the darkest parts of the ocean at depths ranging from 2,742 feet to as much as 4,734 feet.”
Since the initial discovery in 2010, there has been very little to go on, such as what threats it faces because only a handful of other sharks of its kind have been discovered.
Although it appears scary, Victoria Elena Vasquez, a grad student at the Pacific Shark Research Center in California and part of the expedition team, doubts the shark poses a threat to humans.
“Since we don’t have a lot of specimens we can’t confirm if they grow larger, but since it lives in the deep sea, it would be too challenging for people to have a chance encounter in the water without a submersible.”
The team, which also consists of David Ebert and Douglas Long f the California Academy of Sciences say the sharks black appearance earned it the common name of Ninja Lanternshark. It also has fewer of the photophores or dots that emit light than other lanternsharks. The black markings are almost undetectable except under a microscope.