Epaulette shark

Hemiscyllium ocellatum · The epaulette shark is a small carpet shark that lives in shallow, tropical waters off Australia and New Guinea.

Epaulette shark
Photo: Jim Capaldi from Springfield, USA, CC BY 2.0
Epaulette shark
Photo: User:Strobilomyces, CC BY-SA 3.0
Epaulette shark
Photo: Alexander Fordyce, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassChondrichthyes
OrderOrectolobiformes
FamilyHemiscylliidae
GenusHemiscyllium
SpeciesHemiscyllium ocellatum

Where it lives

Shallow reef flats and tide pools of northern Australia and New Guinea.

Fun facts

  • Instead of swimming, it often "walks" across the reef by wriggling its body and pushing with its paddle-shaped fins.
  • It can survive a total lack of oxygen for two hours with no ill effects, even at warm temperatures.
  • Its walking ability even lets it crawl right out of the water to reach isolated tidal pools.
  • Females lay a pair of egg capsules every 14 days, adding up to 20 to 50 eggs in a single year.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).