Least ConcernHagfish
Myxine glutinosa
One of the 26 sharks on WAnimals
Cartilaginous fish · Squaliformes · Etmopteridae
Etmopterus spinax
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The velvet belly lanternshark is a small deep-water shark of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, present in Spanish waters. It is bioluminescent: its belly is covered in thousands of photophores that emit a bluish light. That light is not for seeing but for disappearing: it matches the dim light coming from above and erases its outline.
Weight
300 g – 1 kg
Size
30 cm – 60 cm
Life expectancy
20 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
Social structure
School
Gathers in coordinated schools, typical of fish.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etmopterus_spinax
Best time: All year round on the continental slope of the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean, between 200 and 1,000 m; it gives off light from photophores on its underside.
The pins mark the dive sites where its presence is documented.
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Velvet-belly — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Based on what we already know about velvet-belly.
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