Etmopterus sculptus Ebert, Compagno, & De Vries, 2011

Sculpted Lanternshark

Etmopterus sculptus Ebert, Compagno, & De Vries, 2011: 279, figs. 1–2. Holotype: SAM 37569. Type locality: 33°22.9'S, 17°29.1'E, off Cape Town, South Africa.

Local synonymy: Etmopterus lucifer: Gilchrist, 1922b: 49; Barnard, 1925: 50; Smith, 1949a: 59, fig. 52; Bigelow & Schroeder, 1957: 56; Smith, 1965: 59, fig. 52; Bass et al., 1976: 25, figs. 17, 18c; Compagno, 1984: 79, fig.; Compagno et al., 2005: 102, fig., pl. 8. Spinax lucifer: Norman, 1935: 37. Etmopterus brachyurus: Bass et al., 1986: 55, fig. 5.11; Compagno et al., 1989: 30, pl.; Compagno et al., 1991: 61. Etmopterus cf. brachyurus: Ebert et al., 1992: 604; Compagno, 1999: 114; Compagno, 2016: 1186, fig. Etmopterus sculptus: Ebert, 2013: 83, fig. 108; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 139, fig., pl. 10; Ebert & Mostada, 2013: 33, fig.; Ebert, 2015: 82, fig. 95; Ebert & Mostada, 2015: 29, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 144; Weigmann, 2016: 897.

South Africa voucher material: Holotype: SAM 37569 . Paratypes: SAM 33011, 37570 (2 specimens), 37571 (2 specimens). Non-types: SAIAB 6191, SAIAB 6195, SAIAB 2430, SAIAB 2431, SAIAB 2432, SAIAB 2588, SAIAB 21930, SAIAB 21931, SAIAB 25308, SAIAB 25309, SAIAB 25735, SAIAB 26256, SAIAB 26258, SAIAB 26259, SAIAB 26265, SAM F41924 -3, SAM F41924 -4 .

South Africa distribution: Occurs along the entire South African coast from the Orange River (NC) to KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Etmopterus sculptus was long misidentified in the South African literature either as E. brachyurus or E. lucifer, but both of these species occur in the Western Pacific. Etmopterus sculptus is one of the most common lanternshark species found in South African waters (after E. granulosus).

Conservation status: LC (2019).