The species was first discovered in 2010, according to a paper published in the Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation. It has since been found in parts of the eastern Pacific Ocean spanning from from Nicaragua to Panama, with a majority found off Costa Rica. A total of eight specimens have been found. The largest is about a foot and a half long.

"We don't know a lot about lanternsharks," the paper's first author, Victoria Vásquez, told Hakai Magazine. Vásquez is a graduate student at California's Pacific Shark Research Center. "They don't get much recognition compared to a great white. So when it came to this shark I wanted to give it an interesting story."

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Helen Gilbert places flowers on her brother Eurie Martin’s grave at Camp Spring Baptist Church in Sandersville. Her brother died eight years ago. Three former Washington County deputies are accused of causing his death and are set to stand trial Monday. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez