Etmopterus compagnoi Fricke & Koch, 1990

Brown Lanternshark

Etmopterus compagnoi Fricke & Koch, 1990: 2, figs. 1–2. Holotype: SMNS 8999. Type locality: off Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa, 34°41'S, 18°37'E, southeastern Atlantic.

Local synonymy: Etmopterus spinax: Gilchrist, 1922b: 49; Barnard, 1925; Barnard, 1947: 20, fig. 5, pl. 3; Smith, 1949a: 59, fig. 51; Smith, 1965: 59, fig. 51; Compagno, 1984: 85, fig. Spinax spinax: Norman, 1935: 37. Etmopterus gracilispinis: Karrer, 1973: 199; Shcherbachev et al., 1978: 186; Compagno, 1984: 76, fig.; Compagno et al., 1989: 28, pl.; Compagno, 2016: 1187. Etmopterus sp.: Bass et al., 1986: 57, fig. 5.16. Etmopterus compagnoi: Fricke & Koch, 1990: 2, figs. 1–2; Compagno et al., 1991: 61; Ebert et al., 1992: 605; Compagno, 1999: 114; Straube et al., 2011a: 146; Ebert, 2013: 84, fig. 114; Ebert et al., 2013 a: 128, fig., pl. 10; Ebert & Mostarda, 2013: 34, fig.; Ebert, 2015: 76, fig. 87; Ebert & Mostarda, 2015: 28, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 144; Straube et al., 2015: 11; Weigmann, 2016: 894. Etmopterus unicolor: Compagno et al., 2005: 108, fig., pl. 9.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 25737, SAIAB 26271, SAIAB 27586, SAIAB 27587, SAIAB 27588, SAIAB 27589, SAIAB 27590, SAIAB 27591, SAIAB 27592, SAIAB 27593, SAIAB 27594, SAIAB 27595, SAIAB 27596, SAIAB 27597, SAIAB 27598, SAIAB 61706, SAIAB 87361, SAIAB 186423, SAIAB 186458, SAIAB 189169, SAIAB 193038.

South Africa distribution: The Orange River (NC) to at least Port Alfred (EC) and possibly KZN.

Remarks: Etmopterus compagnoi has a convoluted taxonomic history with most early literature accounts referring to it as either E. spinax or E. gracilispinis . However, Straube et al. (2015) found this species to be distinct from these other lanternsharks. Etmopterus compagnoi was thought to be a South African endemic (Compagno et al., 1989; Straube et al., 2015). However, it appears to have a wider geographic range occurring from southern Namibia to Cape Point (WC), where it is quite common, and east to off Port Alfred (EC) (Ebert, 2015). It also occurs off southern Mozambique and the northern Madagascar Plateau. However, specimens from outside the WC and EC should be closely examined to confirm their identification.

Conservation status: LC (2019).