Epidemiologists study outbreaks of diseases, the causes, locations, and how various communities are affected, utilizing relative information to aid in the prevention of future outbreaks. Epidemiologists help to keep the public informed of methods to maintain and improve public health.
Based on these criteria, the smallest known extant shark species appears to be Etmopterus perryi, males of which mature at 16 to 17.5 cm TL and gravid females have been found at 19 to 20 cm TL (Springer & Burgess 1985).
At about 7 inches (17 centimeters) long, the bioluminescent dwarf lantern shark is the smallest shark on Earth. The fish lives in very deep waterâabout 928 to 1,440 feet (283 to 439 meters)âoff the coast of Colombia and Venezuela, says George Burgess, an ichthyologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History who first described the animal in 1985.