The fringefin lanternshark (Etmopterus schultzi) is a shark of the family Etmopteridae found in the western central Atlantic from Texas to Florida, northern Gulf of Mexico, and Mexico. It is endemic to this area. It is a deep water shark and is found about 220 to 915 meters below the surface, on the upper continental slopes of the Gulf. E. schultzi is a small shark, about 27–30 cm long and feeds on squid. It is also bioluminescent, which counter-illuminates it and helps with intraspecific interaction. Due to its limited range and the difficulty of collecting deep water species, it has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, but due to recent oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, it is likely that fringefin lanternsharks have decreased in population.
ave decreased in population.
E. schultzi males are about 27 cm long, while females are 28–30 cm long. The upper part of their bodies is light brown and their bellies are dusky grey. They have a dark mark behind and above the pelvic fins at the base of their tail. The edges of their fins are given their characteristic fringed appearance by naked ceratotrichia, the filaments that run through fish fins. Their denticles are hooked and mostly cover the snout. Their gill openings are short and their second dorsal fin, the fin located closer to the tail, is about twice the size of the first dorsal fin, which is located closer to the head. Like all shark species, they have heterocercal caudal fins, where the upper part is longer than the lower.
E. shultzi lives at a depth of about 220 to 915 meters below the surface, predominantly on the upper continental slopes of the Gulf of Mexico. It is endemic to the Gulf, and its range extends from the continental slopes of Eastern Mexico, Southern United States, and Western Florida.
Fringefin lanternsharks likely use the species-specific bioluminescent patterns on their ventral side to find mates.
Although fringefin lanternshark reproduction has not been directly studied, due to their close association with other lanternshark species, fringefin lanternsharks are presumably ovoviviparous. Ovoviviparity is a method of reproduction in which there is internal fertilization and the developing young feed on the egg yolk. The mother then gives birth to live, fully developed young. This method is different from viviparous species like mammals because in mammals the developing young are connected to the mother via a placenta and receive nutrients directly from her.
E. schultzi is known to feed on squid. It has also been suggested that these lantersharks school in order to hunt food, but very little research has been done on their feeding behaviors and methods.
Fringefin lanternsharks have no importance to fisheries, but are sometimes bycatch of deepwater trawls.
While no study has been done to determine the population status of E. shultzi specifically, there is evidence that the species has been negatively affected by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A large area of fringefin lanternshark range overlapped with the area of the oil spill, but the species was not studied enough to accurately determine the effect of the oil spill on fringefin lanternshark population.
