catshark

About the catshark

The brownbanded bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum), is a bamboo shark in the family Hemiscylliidae that can be found in the Indo-West Pacific from Japan to northern Australia, between latitudes 34° N and 26° S. It is regularly bred in public aquaria, and is arguably one of the sharks most suited to captivity due to its docile disposition, sedentary nature, and relatively small size. In public aquariums, these fish can live up to 25 years.

These sharks can be distinguished by their concave posterior margined dorsal fin. No color patterns are present for the adults, however, the juveniles have dark transverse bands with some dark spots. It can grow up to 1.04 metres (41 in).

It is a nocturnal animal and can survive out of the water for up to 12 hrs. They have barbels that resemble feline whiskers, hence the common name "cat shark". Despite this moniker, they are not true members of the catshark family, and are more closely related to the nurse sharks, wobbegongs, epaulette sharks and whale sharks, belonging to the order Orectolobiformes.

These sharks live around coral reefs and tide pools. It resides at depths down to 85 metres (279 ft). Wikipedia →