Majority of shark species have cool names such as hammerhead, cookiecutter, goblin and great white. Recently, another cool name was unleashed into the family of sharks, a new addition to the list of cool shark names- Introducing the newly discovered species of Lanternshark known as the ninja Lanternshark.
When you think of ninja, probably the first thing that comes to mind is a person dressed in all black, flying mid-air in a samurai move, right? But that is not the reason why this specie of Lanternshark got its name from.
Victoria Vásquez, a researcher, together with her colleagues unearthed the formerly incognito shark after retrieving its body at the California Academy of Science where it was being stored. This is the first ever Lanternshark to be discovered in Central American waters. Vásquez and her colleagues identified the Lanternshark based on its numerous characteristics.
Some of these characteristics include:
1. Photophores which are light emitting organs.
2. Two dorsal fins with a spine on either one.
3. Dignathic heterodonty, meaning the upper teeth and the lower teeth do not resemble eachother.
Vásquez reported these facts to The Huffington Post. She also reported that ninja Lanternsharks reside in the deep ocean. They have minute dots which glow all over their body. This is highly unlikely for most bioluminescent creatures which tend to use camouflage in the limited light of the deep sea and prowl on their prey.
The researchers named the ninja lanternshark as Etmoterus benchleyi as its scientific name in recognition to Jaw’s film creator, Peter Benchley. Vásquez wished its popular name to be extremely special, which lead her to enlist for helpher younger cousins between the ages of 8 years and 14years.
Some of the names she and her colleagues considered before settling on ninja lanternshark include Super Ninja Shark and Left Shark Lanternshark. Vásquez told HuffPost that the common name they suggested was to site the color of the shark- an unvaried sleek black- and the fact that it has lesser photophores compared to other Lanternshark species.
They felt that those distinctive characteristics would make the Lanternshark as furtive as a ninja. The Ninja Lanternshark that the se scientists got to explore was initially caught in the year 2010 in the waters of Central America. Nonetheless, it was shipped to the academy for storage temporarily where it remained un-researched for 5 years.
Currently, Vásquez is assisting her colleague, Professor Dave Ebert, research the ‘lost shark’ that currently have no descriptions. Ebert told Hakai Magazine that approximately 20% of all shark species have been found over the last 10 years. Therefore, his entire research is dedicated to finding all the ‘lost sharks’. I guess we have many more cool shark names to look forward to in future
Vásquez findings and that of her co-author were published in the journal of the Ocean Science Foundation on Monday.