Metazoan parasite communities and diet of the velvet belly lantern shark Etmopterus spinax (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae): a comparison of two deep-sea ecosystems

By combining an examination of stomach contents yielding a snapshot of the most recent trophic niche and the structure of parasite communities reflecting a long-term feeding niche, this study aimed at gaining more comprehensive information on the role of the small-sized deep-water velvet belly lantern shark Etmopterus spinax in the local food webs of the Galicia Bank and the canyon and valley system of the Aviles Canyon, which have been both proposed for inclusion in the Natura 2000 network of protected areas. As far as is known, this study provides the first comparative parasite infracommunity data for a deep-sea shark species. Component parasite communities in E. spinax were relatively ri…