[VIDEO] The Shark That Can Walk! Watch to Believe!
A newly named species of epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium halmahera, 'walks' along a reef off the coast of an island in Indonesia.
By Sadho Ram — 31 Aug 2013, 04:09 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
The new species is called Hemiscyllium halmahera!
This screen shot shows an image of a new species of walking shark found in the reefs of Indonesia.
Image via christianpost.comA species of shark that uses its fins to "walk" along the bottom of the ocean floor has been discovered off the coast of Indonesia.
theguardian.com
The shark has been identified as the epaulette shark, or Hemiscyllium halmahera, and was in fact first photographed in 2008. It has now been formally identified as a new species in the journal Aqua.
christianpost.com
Walking sharks reportedly use pectoral and pelvic fins to move across the sea bed, while searching for food.
They have also been described as having a distinctive pattern of brown spots on their heads, which distinguishes them from other working sharks.
The new shark is harmless to humans
It has been named hemiscyllium halmahera after the group of sharks it is closely related to and also the place it was found, the eastern Maluku island of Halmahera
Image via dailymail.co.uk
Mark Erdmann, a coral reef ecologist and marine conservationist, filmed the shark on the small island of Halmahera and said his team were very excited at the discovery. He said local indigenous communities have been aware of the shark for many generations but it has only just been spotted by scientists.
Image via dailymail.co.uk
The discovery of the animal (pictured) coincides with a move by the Indonesian government to protect sharks and increase marine tourism and conservation.
Image via dailymail.co.ukThe shark, which has wide horizontal stripes, grows to a maximum length of just 30in and is harmless to humans. It was found off the remote eastern island of Halmahera, one of the Maluku islands.
csmonitor.comThe conservation group said it hoped the discovery would once again demonstrate that most sharks pose no threat to humans.
theguardian.com
Conservation International, whose scientists discovered the shark along with colleagues from the Western Australian Museum, added it came at a time when Indonesia was increasing its efforts to protect shark and ray species.
But it's not the first
"This is the third walking shark species to be described from eastern Indonesia in the past six years, which highlights our tremendous shark and ray biodiversity," said Fahmi, a shark expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.
theguardian.com
"We now know that six of the nine known walking shark species occur in Indonesian waters, and these animals are divers' favourites, with excellent potential to help grow our marine tourism industry."
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