Stegostoma fasciatum
| Zebra shark | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: |
Stegostomatidae T. N. Gill, 1862 |
| Genus: |
Stegostoma J. P. Müller & Henle, 1837 |
| Species: | S. fasciatum |
| Binomial name | |
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Stegostoma fasciatum (Hermann, 1783) |
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| Range of the zebra shark | |
| Synonyms | |
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Scyllia quinquecornuatum van Hasselt, 1823 |
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Scyllia quinquecornuatum van Hasselt, 1823
Scyllium heptagonum Rüppell, 1837
Squalus cirrosus Gronow, 1854
Squalus fasciatus Hermann, 1783
Squalus longicaudus Gmelin, 1789
Squalus pantherinus Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1852
Squalus tigrinus Forster, 1781
Squalus varius Seba, 1759
Stegostoma carinatum Blyth, 1847
Stegostoma tigrinum naucum Whitley, 1939
Stegostoma varium Garman, 1913
The zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m (203 ft). Adult zebra sharks are distinctive in appearance, with five longitudinal ridges on a cylindrical body, a low caudal fin comprising nearly half the total length, and a pattern of dark spots on a pale background. Young zebra sharks under 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long have a completely different pattern, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background, and lack the ridges. This species attains a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft).
Zebra sharks are nocturnal and spend most of the day resting motionless on the sea floor. At night, they actively hunt for molluscs, crustaceans, small bony fishes, and possibly sea snakes inside holes and crevices in the reef. Though solitary for most of the year, they form large seasonal aggregations. The zebra shark is oviparous: females produce several dozen large egg capsules, which they anchor to underwater structures via adhesive tendrils. Innocuous to humans and hardy in captivity, zebra sharks are popular subjects of ecotourism dives and public aquaria. The World Conservation Union has assessed this species as Endangered worldwide, as it is taken by commercial fisheries across most of its range (except off Australia) for meat, fins, and liver oil. There is evidence that its numbers are dwindling.
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Wikipedia