Taillight shark | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Chondrichthyes |
Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
Order: | Squaliformes |
Family: | Dalatiidae |
Genus: | Euprotomicroides Hulley & M. J. Penrith, 1966 |
Species: | E. zantedeschia
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Binomial name | |
Euprotomicroides zantedeschia Hulley & M. J. Penrith, 1966
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Occurrences of the taillight shark |
The taillight shark (Euprotomicroides zantedeschia) is a little-known species of shark in the family Dalatiidae and the only member of its genus.[2] It is known from only four specimens collected from deep oceanic waters in the southern Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean.[2] A small shark with a laterally compressed body and a bulbous snout, this species has unusual adaptations that indicate a specialized lifestyle: its pectoral fins are paddle-like and may be used for propulsion, unlike other sharks and it has a pouch-like gland on its abdomen that emits clouds of luminescent blue fluid.[2] This shark is likely aplacental viviparous and a formidable predator for its size.