Animale
Epaulette shark
Hemiscyllium ocellatum. A bottom-dwelling shark that can move on its fins.
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An epaulette shark can move along the seabed using its pectoral and pelvic fins. This walking-like movement is useful in very shallow water between hollows in a reef. It inhabits warm coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef. A bottom-dwelling species, it is most active at dusk and at night.
A large black spot with a pale border sits above the pectoral fin. Resembling an extra eye, it stands out from the smaller dark dots on the slender body. The species grows to just over a metre. It has two dorsal fins of similar size and short barbels near its nostrils.
To find food, it uses smell and electroreception, the ability to detect weak electric fields in its surroundings. It eats crabs, shrimps, bristle worms and small fish, among other prey. It is egg-laying: the young develop outside the female's body. Its senses and way of moving suit hunting in the sheltered spaces of the seabed.
Per bambini
A shark can move as though it is walking. The epaulette shark supports itself on its pectoral and pelvic fins and shifts its body along the bottom. This movement helps it cross very shallow places between hollows in a reef. It lives in the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef and mainly searches for food at dusk and at night.
Above a pectoral fin is a large black spot with a pale ring, rather like an eye. Smaller dots cover the rest of its slender body. This shark can grow to just over a metre and has short barbels beside its nostrils.
Smell helps it find crabs, shrimps, small fish and other animals. It can also detect weak electric fields, a sense called electroreception. Females lay eggs in which the young sharks develop.
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Which fins support an epaulette shark as it moves along the bottom?
- Posizione
- Aquatic Animals of the World, first floor, tank 514 · Gdynia Aquarium