Author: Günther, 1887
Field Marks:
No anal fin, grooved dorsal fin spines, teeth with narrow cusps and cusplets in upper and lower jaws, uniformly brownish-black coloration without conspicuous markings, long abdomen, long caudal peduncle and dwarf size.
Diagnostic Features:
Body moderately stout and compressed. Preoral snout moderately long, about 3/5 of distance from mouth to pectoral origins; mouth rather narrowly arched, nearly half as long as wide. Second dorsal fin much larger than first; pectoral apices when laid back ending well anterior to first dorsal spine origin. Caudal peduncle elongated, distance from second dorsal insertion to upper caudal origin about as long as distance from eye to pectoral origins. Lateral trunk denticles close-set, conical and with hooked cusps. Colour brownishblack above and below, without conspicuous black areas on underside of body or caudal peduncle; fins plain. Size small. adults below 30 cm.
Geographical Distribution:
Western South Atlantic: Falkland Islands/ Malvinas.
Habitat and Biology:
A poorly known deepwater shark caught off the Falkland Islands slope at 448 m.
Size:
Maximum total length at least 28 cm (adult male holotype).
Interest to Fisheries: None.
Remarks:
This species has been confused with Etmopterus granulosus (Günther, 1880) but is quite distinct (Krefft, 1968a). The writer examined the holotypes of both species in the British Museum (Natural History), and was able to confirm the validity of this species.
Type material:
Holotype: British Museum (Natural History), BMNH 1887.12.7.2, 265 mm ( 11 inches or 279 mm, in original account) adult nale. Type Locality: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, 448 m depth.