Overview
- Imarpe confirmed the species after analyzing three deep‑water bycatch specimens taken off Ilo and Arequipa at 1,400 to 1,450 meters.
- All three sharks carried the parasitic barnacle Anelasma squalicola, marking its first record in Peru.
- Taxonomic comparisons with material in Imarpe’s collection and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris determined that Etmopterus benchleyi equals E. litvinovi.
- The record extends the shark’s known range in the southeastern Pacific.
- The study, led by Imarpe’s Fabiola Zavalaga with Chilean and French collaborators, shows how bycatch monitoring and museum collections uncover deep‑sea biodiversity.