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Pygmy shark

 
Pygmy Shark

 
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Pygmy shark
 
 
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The pygmy shark, Euprotomicrus bispinatus, the second-smallest of all the shark species after the dwarf lanternshark
Dwarf lanternshark

The dwarf lanternshark, Etmopterus perryi, is a shark of the family Dalatiidae found off Colombia and Venezuela, at depths of between 280 and 440 m....
, is a sleeper shark of the Dalatiidae
Dalatiidae

Dalatiidae is a family of sharks, commonly known as sleeper sharks. They are found worldwide.All members of the family except for the Pacific sleeper shark, Somniosus pacificus, have luminescent organs....
 family, the only member of the genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Euprotomicrus, found in subtropical and warm temperate
Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold....
 oceans worldwide, from the surface to depths of 1,800 m
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
. Their length is up to about 25 cm (10 in) for females and about 22 cm (8.7 in) for males.

The pygmy shark has a large head and underslung jaw, strangely shaped caudal fin
Fin

A fin is a surface used to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media. The first use of the word was for Fish anatomy#Fins of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices....
, and a very small first dorsal fin
Dorsal fin

A wikt:dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of some fish, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the ichthyosaurs. Its main purpose is to stabilize the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns....
 set far back on the body.






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The pygmy shark, Euprotomicrus bispinatus, the second-smallest of all the shark species after the dwarf lanternshark
Dwarf lanternshark

The dwarf lanternshark, Etmopterus perryi, is a shark of the family Dalatiidae found off Colombia and Venezuela, at depths of between 280 and 440 m....
, is a sleeper shark of the Dalatiidae
Dalatiidae

Dalatiidae is a family of sharks, commonly known as sleeper sharks. They are found worldwide.All members of the family except for the Pacific sleeper shark, Somniosus pacificus, have luminescent organs....
 family, the only member of the genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Euprotomicrus, found in subtropical and warm temperate
Temperate

In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold....
 oceans worldwide, from the surface to depths of 1,800 m
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
. Their length is up to about 25 cm (10 in) for females and about 22 cm (8.7 in) for males.

The pygmy shark has a large head and underslung jaw, strangely shaped caudal fin
Fin

A fin is a surface used to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media. The first use of the word was for Fish anatomy#Fins of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices....
, and a very small first dorsal fin
Dorsal fin

A wikt:dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of some fish, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the ichthyosaurs. Its main purpose is to stabilize the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns....
 set far back on the body. The shark has no spines in front of the dorsal fins. The shark is black with a slightly paler belly and white borders to the fins.

The lower body is luminescent, which is thought to help in disguising the fish's dark silhouette from upward-looking predators below.

The shark undertakes vertical migrations from the lower levels of its depth range to the surface each night. They follow the deep-water crustacean
Crustacean

Crustaceans are a large group of arthropods, comprising almost 52,000 described species , and are usually treated as a subphylum . They include various familiar animals, such as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles....
s, squid
Squid

Squid are marine cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, Symmetry #Bilateral_symmetry, a mantle , and cephalopod arms....
s, and bony fish which rise at the same time to feed on surface plankton
Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
 in comparative safety.

Pygmy sharks are ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity

Ovoviviparous, also known as oviviparous, animals develop within Egg s that remain within the mother's body up until they hatch or are about to hatch....
 and produce about 8 young in each litter.