| Etmopterus Temporal range:  Middle Eocene to Present  | |
|---|---|
|   | |
| Velvet belly lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax) | |
|   | |
| Green lanternshark (Etmopterus virens) | |
|  Scientific classification   | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia | 
| Phylum: | Chordata | 
| Class: | Chondrichthyes | 
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii | 
| Division: | Selachii | 
| Order: | Squaliformes | 
| Family: | Etmopteridae | 
| Genus: |  Etmopterus  Rafinesque, 1810  | 
| Type species | |
| Etmopterus aculeatus Rafinesque, 1810  | |
Etmopterus is a genus of lantern sharks in the squaliform family Etmopteridae. They are found in deep sea ecosystems of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. [2]
A number of species in this genus function as host to the specialized parasitic barnacle Anelasma squalicola , which embeds itself into the skin of the shark and extracts nutrients from its bloodstream. [3]
There are currently 45 recognized species in this genus:
There are at least two extinct species found in Etmopterus. [17]