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Longtailed Carpetsharks. Hemiscylliidae species.
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page are copyright protected: © 2002 Kelvin Aitken.
All rights reserved. Students may use this information for
personal research only. Not for commercial use.
This family of slender sharks contain the many species of
Epaulette Sharks and the Brown Banded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium
punctatum). The Brown Banded Bamboo Shark is a tropical species
found across the northern coast of Australia and the Indo-Pacific
north to Japan and west to the east coast of India. Its common
name comes from the juvenile's pattern of dark chocolate brown
bands on a cream body; these blend and fade to a uniform grey
or brown in adulthood. When the young hatch from their eggs
they are about 17 cm long but they grow to a metre or more.
Their bodies are slender with broad paddle-shaped pectoral
fins that are used to wedge themselves into crevices to avoid
predators. This shark is often confused with the Nurse or
Blind Shark but it can be easily distinguished by the conspicuous
white edges to its gills.
While the Brown Banded Bamboo Shark may occur at depths as
great as 90 m, it is far more common in shallow reef areas
where it feeds on invertebrates, such as crabs and shelled
molluscs, as well as small fish.. This shark has the ability
to live for extended periods out of water. This is possibly
in response to its tendency to become stranded in rock pools
at low tide.
Epaulette Shark
The common name for the Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)
comes from the large dark spot that develops over each pectoral
fin ofthe adults, much like the epaulette shoulder patches
on a military uniform. Juveniles have dark 'saddles' on the
back which fade as the speckled adult coloration takes over.
Epaulette Sharks are egg-layers with juveniles 15 cm long
growing to an adult size of one metre. The distinctive colour
pattern easily distinguishes this shark from other similar-shaped
carpet sharks.
Epaulette Sharks are commonly found in tropical Australian
waters and are the most accessible of all sharks for reef
waders and snorkelers. During the day they hide under ledges
and large sections of coral rubble, at times in just a few
inches of water. During the night they can be found in the
shallows foraging for small invertebrates. This shark is harmless
and will happily go about its business among waders if not
harassed.
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