You may have heard about ninja turtles but what about ninja sharks? Scientists have discovered another glow-in-the-dark species this time the Ninja Lanternshark. A couple of months ago scientists found the first glowing sea turtle.
The sneaky shark was discovered by a group of researchers including Victoria Vásquez of the California Academy of Sciences. According to her Facebook, Vásquez is a student getting her Master's degree. The Huffington Post reports the shark's body—caught in 2010—was found in the California Academy of Sciences' storage before being discovered and identified by Vásquez and the team.
Now that you know its backstory here's the story of how the Ninja Lanternshark got its names.
In an interview with The Huffington Post Vásquez described the creature as having "photophores (which help it glow)" and "dignathic heterodonty," meaning two different kinds of sets of teeth. She explained that the Ninja lanternshark was able to blend in because it had less photophores, making it easier for it to capture prey by using the photophores for camouflage.
Because of its ability to surprise prey, Vásquez, with the help of two of her young cousins, came up with Ninja lanternshark. She told The Huffington Post, "The common name we have suggested refers to the shark's color, which is a uniform sleek black as well as the fact that it has fewer photophores than other species of Lanternsharks." Vásquez added, "We felt those unique characteristics would make this species stealthy like a ninja."
If you thought the shark couldn't sound any cooler you were wrong. Vásquez also revealed the source of the shark's scientific name to The Huffington Post. It was named the Etmoterus benchleyi after Jaws (the film) creator Peter Benchley.
