JAKARTA (INDONESIA)- A new species of ‘walking shark’ has been discovered in the waters around the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It has been described in the journal Aqua and given the name epaulette (long-tailed carpet) shark, or Hemiscyllium halmahera.
It was actually photographed for the first time in 2008. Two other specimens were caught by scientists from the Western Australian Museum and Conservation International in Indonesia’s Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas or the Spice Islands). The species name refers to Halmahera, the largest island in the Malukus.
It’s the third walking shark species to be described from eastern Indonesia in the past six years. “It highlights our tremendous shark and ray biodiversity,” says Indonesia’s foremost shark expert, known by the single name Fahmi, in a news release from Conservation International. “We now know that six of the nine known walking shark species occur in Indonesian waters, and these animals are diver favorites with excellent potential to help grow our marine tourism industry.”
Walking sharks
Walking sharks uses their pectoral and pelvic fins to move across the sea bottom while foraging at night for small fishes and invertebrates. H. halmahera is distinguished from other walkers by the distinctive pattern of brown spots on its head.
Shark populations
Indonesia is home to at least 218 species of sharks and rays. In a blog post, Conservation International’s Mark Erdmann marveled at how much progress Indonesia has made in protecting its native sharks. “If you asked me a year ago about the long-term future of shark populations in Indonesia, I probably would have responded: ‘Bleak.'”
Read more at NBC News