Fun Epaulette Shark Facts For Kids

The Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) is part of the long-tailed carpet shark. It is found in the shallow tropical waters of Australia and New Guinea.

Its English name indicates the visible black spots with a white margin around it behind each pectoral fin that look like military Epaulettes. They are not as long as the other shark species, at just under one meter.

They have slender bodies, with short and rounded heads and broad paddle-shaped fins. Almost half of the length of the fish is the caudal peduncle continuing into the tail fin.

The adults are light brown with scattered darker spots and indistinct saddles. They are nocturnal animals that prefer shallow waters of coral reefs and tidal pools.

The Epaulette shark doesn't swim, it walks by wiggling its body and pushing with its paired fins. They have adapted to severe night-time oxygen depletion or hypoxia in the tidal pools in which they are found.

The Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) increases the blood supply to its brain and selectively shut down non-essential neural functions. It can survive for two hours in complete anoxia without any damage to them and that too at higher temperatures than most hypoxia-tolerant animals.

The species is a popular pet at home and in public aquariums, where they adapt well to their surroundings. The other names for Epaulette sharks are shark or blind shark.

They can be seen comfortably swimming in very shallow water where it barely covers its body. After reading these interesting Epaulette Shark facts, do check our other articles on basking shark facts and sandbar shark facts as well.

Epaulette Shark Interesting Facts

What type of animal is an Epaulette Shark?

An Epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) is a type of fish that belongs to the long-tailed carpet shark family. It is found in the southern hemisphere around Australia and New Guinea. They can swim in shallow water around reefs and tidal pools. Large populations of this species can be found in and around coral reefs.

What class of animal does an Epaulette Shark belong to?

The Epaulette shark belongs to the class Chondrichthyes like other sharks and rays. However, they are oviparous, which means they lay eggs.

They are small-sized sharks as compared to most sharks found in the shallow waters of the Great Barrier Reefs and surrounding regions. Epaulette sharks have a unique ability to survive low oxygen conditions as well as survive in environments without any oxygen.

How many Epaulette Sharks are there in the world?

Epaulette sharks are found in abundance in the wild and in captivity. Their population is stable and increasing. Therefore the animal is not on any of the IUCN lists.

Where does an Epaulette Shark live?

The Epaulette shark is found from the southern coast of New Guinea to the northern coast of Australia. They can be found as far as Sydney.

The Capricorn-Bunker Group of the Great Barrier Reef contains a large population as well as reefs around Heron Islands. They may be found in the water surrounding Malaysia, Sumatra, and the Solomon Islands, walking and swimming with the help of their pectoral fins.

What is an Epaulette Shark's habitat?

Epaulette Sharks are found in shallow waters near the coastline. The maximum depth they can go to is 160 ft (49 m).

They can be seen in spots where water is barely covering their bodies. They prefer coral flats, tidal pools, and stands of staghorn coral.

They can also survive in an oxygen depletion state in isolated tidal pools. They can live in this state for almost two hours.

Due to extreme tides and higher temperatures, the coral reef is left as a series of rockpools during the low tide. As a result, the bigger sharks must move to deeper waters, hence the Epaulette shark is left alone to exploit the coral reef without any difference with its muscular pectoral fins.

Who do Epaulette Sharks live with?

They may be solitary creatures that are found in the shallow water around the northern coast of Australia. They may be found in pairs only during the breeding season.

How long does an Epaulette Shark live?

The Epaulette shark lives for 20-25 years in the wild and may live even longer in captivity. As in the wild, it doesn't have many predators. They have adapted well to live in shallow waters.

How do they reproduce?

Breeding of Epaulette sharks takes place from July to December. In captivity, these sharks breed regularly.

This species reaches sexual maturity as soon as they grow to a length of around 24 in (61 cm). Alternatively, they reach sexual maturity at the age of around seven years.

The females are known to initiate the courtship by following and biting the males. The male, when ready, will hold on to the female with his mouth while lying alongside her and insert his claspers into her cloaca.

The copulation will last for one and a half hours. They are known to breed in smaller tanks in the aquarium and can do so at any time.

It is recommended that the breeding takes place in a larger tank so that there is room for hatched offspring. The female shark will lay eggs from August to December in the wild.

She will drop two capsules of eggs at a time every 14 days, which is a total of 20-50 eggs per year. The egg case measures 4 in (10 cm) long and 2 in (5 cm) wide.

The young ones will emerge after 120-130 days and are 6-7 in (12-15 cm) long. Males and females mature sexually when they attain the length of 22-26 in (56-66 cm) at the age of seven years.

What is their conservation status?

The Epaulette Shark found around New Guinea is declared critically endangered by the IUCN Red List due to severe habitat loss, destructive fishing practices, and over-exploitation by artisanal fishers. The population around the north Australian coast is stable and increasing.

It is also not captured for recreational or commercial fisheries. The collection for aquarium or fishery bycatch is also minimal, as the region they are found in is a declared protected marine park.

Epaulette Shark Fun Facts

What do Epaulette Sharks look like?

The Epaulette shark can be recognized from a distance due to its distinct large black spots present behind the pectoral fin on both sides, with one marking around it. They seem to look like a military-style Epaulette.

They are named after these features too. They have a small, slender, eel-like body with a short round snout, which has nasal barbells on the underside, prominent eyes, spiracles, and paddle-shaped pectoral and pelvic fins.

They also have two dorsal fins of similar size located at the back of the body. The anal fin is located just forward of the caudal fin. The caudal fin is narrow with no ventral lobe.

Over half the length of the shark comprises the caudal peduncle. They have a row of 26-35 teeth in the upper jaw and 21-32 teeth in the lower jaws.

The teeth are small with broad bases. Their body color is light brownish to cream with widely spread dark brown spots.

How cute are they?

They are different-looking animals with slender bodies and the ability to walk on land underwater in shallow regions where their body is barely submerged. They are known to be friendly towards humans too.

How do they communicate?

They may communicate only during the breeding season, or else they are not known to communicate that much.

How big is an Epaulette Shark?

The Epaulette shark is not as big as other sharks. They can grow as large as 3.3 ft (110cm) at most and are considered to be mid to small range for large sharks.

How fast can an Epaulette Shark swim?

Epaulette sharks are known to walk by wiggling its body and pushing with their paired fins. These marine species can be found in the shallow waters near the coastline.

They may not be that fast at swimming. As epaulette sharks inhabit the shallow coral reef system which is filled with obstacles.

To move around the cracks and crevices of its habitat while looking around for prey, this species evolved the capability of walking along the seafloor. The walking is accompanied by a crawling motion.

The evolutionary adaptations in their pectoral and pelvic fins have enhanced their range of motion. While they can swim at a decent pace, more often than not epaulette sharks can be seen walking across the seafloor or the coral reef.

How much does an Epaulette Shark weigh?

The Epaulette shark weighs around6.4 lb (2.9kg). They are slender fish with a round head and a compact body. They are known as small sharks in terms of body mass.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The male and female Epaulette sharks do not have any specific names for them. This species derives its common name from the extremely large black spot that has a white margin behind its pectoral fins, which is similar to military Epaulettes.

What would you call a baby Epaulette Shark?

The baby Epaulette shark does not have any specific name. They are known as juvenile Epaulette sharks.

What do they eat?

Epaulette sharks feed at low tide and during the night. They will forage the reefs and coral floors using olfaction and electroreception to locate their prey while hiding inside coral heads. They will push their snouts forward in the sand and then the body will thrash the prey.

They eat small bony fish, Polychaeta worms, and benthic crustaceans. Adults are known to feed on shrimps and crabs and the younger ones will eat worms and fish.

They use suction feeding. The Heron Island species are known to feed on Polychaeta worms and crabs more. These sharks will chew their food for up to 10 minutes, unlike other sharks.

Are they dangerous?

They are not dangerous animals. If handled badly they may nip at their handlers. We can easily observe them slowly moving in shallow water. They are known to adapt well in captivity too.

Would they make a good pet?

A pet Epaulette shark can be excellent in captivity and is found in many personal and public aquariums. They adjust well in smaller tanks and living spaces too. They are friendly creatures who can be ideal pets too.

Did you know...

Epaulette can be pronounced as eh-puh-let.They are ornamental shoulder pads used to denote rank or importance in the military.

Can Epaulette Sharks walk on land?

These marine animals do not swim but walk by wiggling their bodies and pushing ahead with their fins. Epaulette sharks can walk on the reef floors and underwater sand beds in shallow water too.

They are found on coral flats, tidal pools, and stands of staghorn coral. They can also survive in an oxygen depletion state in isolated tidal pools. They can live in this state for almost two hours.

Many people have observed them while snorkeling in oceans at a low depth. They are known to walk in shallow water where their bodies are barely submerged in water.

Epaulette Sharks and humans

There isn't much human impact on the Epaulette shark as they have adapted well to their surroundings. It is also not captured for recreational or commercial fisheries. The collection for aquariums or fishery bycatch is also minimal.

They are kept as pets in commercial and personal aquariums. They are easily cared for in captivity once they have acclimatized well.

They like some live rock decor and can walk around in tanks too. They can breed anytime in captivity. This marine species may get a parasitic infection once in a while and it's not fatal in the wild but is a cause for concern in captivity.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other fish including Nurse Shark Facts or Hammerhead Shark Facts.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Epaulette Shark coloring pages.