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There Really Is A Shark That Can Walk

Did you know Australian waters are home to a walking shark? Perhaps implausibly, and definitely remarkably, the epaulette shark walks on its paddle-shaped fins both in and out of the water.


Hemiscyllium ocellatum

The epaulette shark - Hemiscyllium ocellatum - can also swim to make a fast getaway, but as often as not it gets about by clambering over the seabed. It is also an unusual coral-reef shark, because it can survive in warm, oxygen-poor pools at low tide. It conserves oxygen by shutting down its motor nerve system but leaving its sensory nerves alert to detect predators.


It dilates its blood vessels, which lowers its blood pressure by as much as half, and pumps more blood to the brain and the heart itself. With these adaptations it can survive in very-low-oxygen conditions until the tide rises and oxygen-rich water floods its pool once more, says Discover Wildlife.


The common name of this shark comes from the very large, white-margined black spot behind each pectoral fin, which are reminiscent of military epaulettes. A small species usually under 1 m (3.3 ft) long, the epaulette shark has a slender body with a short head and broad, paddle-shaped paired fins.


Here's a one minute BBC video narrated by David Attenborough...






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