Author: (Lowe, 1839)
Etmopterus pusillus (Lowe, 1839)
Status in World Register of Marine Species:
Accepted name: Etmopterus pusillus (Lowe, 1839) (updated 2009-06-25)
Diagnosis: snout broad, bluntly rounded, narrowing at nostrils, the latter equidistant between snout tip and eye, which is large, posterior corner above angle of mouth. Mouth with deep groove posteriorly from corner, labial folds short. Upper teeth tri-cuspid, medial cusp much larger; lower teeth oblique, strongly angled posteriorly. Gill-slits progressively smaller. Second dorsal fin spine curved, its length almost reaching apex of fin; second dorsal spine behind pelvic fin bases, free tip of pelvic fins slightly behind dorsal spine; caudal fin short, upper tip truncate, sub-terminal notch poorly developed, lower lobe moderately developed. Dermal denticles crater-shaped without medial spine. Colour: brown above, black below, a pale spot between eyes; margins of dorsal and pectoral fins light. Size: ? some still immature at 50 cm.
Habitat: benthic on slopes, 300 1,000 m in subtropical and tropical waters. Food: fishes and cephalopods. Reproduction: ?ovoviviparous.
Distribution: In Clofnam area off Portugal, Madeira and the Azores. Elsewhere, southward into tropical West African waters; also, western Atlantic (including Gulf of Mexico, off Brazil and Argentina) and off Japan.