LAILA’S LANTERNSHARK
WHAT IS IT? Lanternsharks aren’t the most intimidating of marine predators. This new species, weighing less than a kilogram and with a bulbous, comedy snout is perhaps harder to fear than most. Like other lanternsharks, it is dotted with light-emitting organs. Even the name – a tribute to the daughter of one of the biologists – is cute.
WHERE IS IT? It was caught at depths of over 300m in the Hawaiian archipelago. The first specimens were collected 17 years ago, but mistaken for another known species from Japan. The snout houses large olfactory organs – all the better for smelling one’s way in the dark.