Etmopterus sheikoi (Dolganov, 1986)

Straube, Nicolas, White, William T., Ho, Hsuan-Ching, Rochel, Elisabeth, Corrigan, Shannon, Li, Chenhong & Naylor, Gavin J. P., 2013, A DNA sequence-based identification checklist for Taiwanese chondrichthyans, Zootaxa 3752 (1), pp. 256-278 : 261

Etmopterus sheikoi (Dolganov, 1986)

Type locality: Kyushu Palau Ridge, western North Pacific.

The two Taiwanese E. sheikoi samples included in this analysis formed a single cluster that included a sample (GN7440) from Taiwan. As discussed in Straube et al. (2010), the species is inferred to be the sister group to the E. lucifer clade. Potential misidentification can be ruled out as the morphology is highly distinctive and specimens analysed herein are vouchered. The phylogenetic affinities of E. sheikoi are especially interesting. Straube et al. (2010) showed that flank markings in Etmopterus mirror the relationships inferred from molecular data for all species, except E. sheikoi . From a morphological perspective, the species would be expected to cluster within the E. pusillus clade rather than the E. lucifer clade as suggested by the molecular data ( Figure 2). This is an unusual case in which morphology and genetics are inconsistent and need further data collection and analysis from both approaches. This species was previously allocated to the genus Miroscyllium , but molecular data suggest this species belongs to the genus Etmopterus .