A marine biologist has shared a glimpse into how epaulette sharks get around – using their pectoral and pelvic fins to walk along the seafloor.
“And that is why they are called ‘walking sharks’,” says Jacinta Shackleton on Instagram.
Shackleton captured the remarkable video of a juvenile epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) exploring the reef while she was working at Lady Elliot Island eco resort on Australia’s southern Great Barrier Reef.
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"The sharks are most active around dawn and dusk as this is when they feed and this one was most likely out looking for food,” says Shackleton who was researching the species as part of her studies with the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
"They have specialised organs called ampullae of lorenzini on their snout which help them pick up any electrical impulses from underneath the sand,” she says. “This one eventually found some worms hiding under the sand!”
"Its fins enable them to 'walk' along the seabed, over corals, and even across land,” adds Master Reef Guides when re-sharing the video on Instagram.
“This special superpower allows them to move between rock pools at low tide to feed on trapped small fish and invertebrates, boldly going where no other predator can.”
Image and video credit: Jacinta Shackleton / instagram.com/jacintashackleton
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