The perfectly named ninja lanternshark is a new glow-in-the-dark shark species

Meet the ninja lanternshark. It was officially declared a species just last week, and its superhero-esque new nickname — known scientifically as a “common name” — makes up for its slightly unsettling little frown mouth and iridescent eyeballs.

The shark’s scientific name is Etmopterus benchleyi, which is an homage to Jaws author Peter Benchley. But researchers at the Pacific Shark Research Center (PSRC) in California wanted to give the shark a name that would make it a star.

“Taxonomy can sometimes be kind of dry, but the naming thing always gets people excited,” Dave Ebert, program director for the PSRC, told Hakai Magazine.

Because the Central American shark glows in the dark — its skin contains photophores that emit a faint glow — and its skin is a stealthy black color, the team eventually settled on ninja lanternshark. Researcher Vicky Vásquez said the name was inspired by her eight-year-old cousins, who had suggested the name “super ninja shark.”