[DiamondSmiles]

By Vetstreet 1:30 PM E.T.
August 28, 2013

A new brown spotted shark discovered by a Conservation International team off the coast of Indonesia is a species of bamboo shark that grows to just 27 inches long. The fish live on the ocean floor and move their bodies so that their fins push them along in a motion that looks like walking.

The shark searches on the seabed for marine invertebrates and small fish to eat.

Gerald Allen, a biologist who led the team that made the discovery, describes Hemiscyllium halmahera in the International Journal of Ichthyology, (below).

Hemiscyllium halmahera new species is described from two specimens, 656-681 mm TL, collected at Ternate, Halmahera, Indonesia. The new species is clearly differentiated on the basis of colour pattern. Its features include a general brown colouration with numerous clusters of mainly 2-3 dark polygonal spots, widely scattered white spots in the matrix between dark clusters, relatively few (< 10), large dark spots on the interorbital/snout region, a pair of large dark marks on the ventral surface of the head, and a fragmented post-cephalic mark consisting of a large U-shaped dark spot with a more or less continuous white margin on the lower half, followed by a vertical row of three, smaller clusters of 2-3 polygonal dark marks.

The new species is most similar in general appearance to H. galei from Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua, which differs in having 7-8 large, horizontally elongate dark spots on the lower side between the abdomen and caudal-fin base, a cluster of solid dark post-cephalic spots, and usually about 25 dark spots on the upper surface of the head.

[Darkest Angel]

Yep. I want one.

[Faline]

[kellyhound]

cool

[Sharon]

Love sharks