Zebra shark
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- Name / Latin
- Zebra shark — Stegostoma tigrinum
- Brief description
- The zebra shark is the only species in its family. It is easily recognised by its patterned colour, long tail and longitudinal ridges along the body. Its range covers the warm waters of the southern Pacific. It prefers coastal shelves of continents and islands and is often seen on coral reefs at depths of 70–80 metres or less. This shark is large, reaching over three metres in length, though adults are usually 2 to 2.5 metres.
- Size:
- up to 3+ m
- Depth:
- down to 70–80 m
- Habitat:
- Indo-Pacific region
- Family:
- Stegostomatidae
- Type:
- Fish
- Activity:
- Nocturnal
- Conservation status:
- Endangered (EN) — threatened with extinction according to IUCN assessment
The zebra shark is the only species in its family. It is easily recognised by its patterned colour, long tail and longitudinal ridges along the body. Its range includes the warm waters of the southern Pacific: South Africa, the Red Sea, and the waters around India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Palau, Australia, New Zealand and other areas. It prefers coastal shelves and is often found on coral reefs at depths of 70–80 metres or less. This shark is large — the longest male ever recorded was 354 cm — though adults are usually 2 to 2.5 metres. Despite its size and bright colour, the zebra shark is not aggressive and does not attack humans without good reason. However, the sharp spines with venom glands on its body can cause serious injury. The name likely comes from its juvenile pattern, when the body is covered with stripes and oblong spots like a zebra. With age these turn into many small round spots, so "leopard shark" would also fit.
The zebra shark has a distinctive teardrop-shaped body with clear ridges along the back. The head is rounded at the front, with small eyes and a small mouth armed with tiny sharp teeth, and a pair of small barbels under the lower jaw. The nostrils in front of the eyes have grooves, and there are five gill slits on each side. The large, rounded pectoral fins are used for support, especially when resting on the bottom. The two dorsal fins are set one behind the other; the first is longer than the second. The second dorsal almost reaches the tail fin. The tail is long, about as long as the body, with almost no lower lobe. This shape helps the zebra shark move easily among rocks and algae but limits its top speed.
The zebra shark is usually slow-moving and likes to rest on the bottom, partly buried in sand. By day it often swims near the bottom. Some individuals stay in the same area and return to favoured spots. Thanks to its flexible body, it can squeeze into narrow cracks between rocks and reach prey in reef crevices. It also often feeds on the sandy bottom.
Its diet includes molluscs, gastropods, bottom crustaceans, small fish, shrimp and sometimes sea snakes. Interestingly, these sharks often prefer dead or sick fish.
The zebra shark lays large egg cases up to 17 cm long. The eggs are dark and slightly flattened, with attachments that fix them to the bottom. Development takes about 170 days, and the young hatch at about 20–25 cm. They reach maturity at about 170 cm body length, with males maturing a little earlier than females.
