Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Epaulette shark

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Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Bonnaterre, 1788)

Epaulette shark
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Hemiscyllium ocellatum   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Epaulette shark)
Hemiscyllium ocellatum
Picture by Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy/B. Alenda

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Orectolobiformes (Carpet sharks) > Hemiscylliidae (Bamboo sharks)
Etymology: Hemiscyllium: hemi-, from hemisys (Gr.), half, presumably referring to similarity and/ or close affinity to Scyllium (=Scyliorhinus, now in Scyliorhinidae) and/or Chiloscyllium; skylion, Greek for dogfish or small shark. (See ETYFish);  ocellatum: Latin for eyed, referring to conspicuous white-ringed black ocellus on flanks above pectoral fins. (See ETYFish).
More on author: Bonnaterre.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 54540). Tropical; 1°S - 34°S, 112°E - 163°E (Ref. 54540)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Western Pacific: New Guinea and northern Australia. Possibly occurring in Malaysia, Sumatra (Indonesia), and the Solomon Islands.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 60 - ? cm
Max length : 107 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 0. Caudal fin with a pronounced subterminal notch but without a ventral lobe (Ref. 13575). Lateral ocellus not surrounded by large spots; spots present on head in front and below eyes (Ref. 13575).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Commonly found in shallow water of coral reefs (Ref. 6871). Often in tide pools (Ref. 13575). Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 6871). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Squirms when captured but cannot readily escape (Ref. 247). Survives well in aquariums (Ref. 6871). Has the ability to survive low oxygen conditions by switching of non-essential brain functions; apparently an adaption for hunting in tide-pools with low oxygen (Ref. 52022).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Oviparous, paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449). Prior to copulation, the male gets a good grasp of the female by by biting the body and even the gills (Ref. 49562, 51043).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO. (Ref. 247)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 February 2015

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless (Ref. 247)





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Fisheries: species profile; Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Common names
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Metabolism
Predators
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Reproduction
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Eggs
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Age/Size
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.1 - 28, mean 26.9 °C (based on 262 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5020   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00407 (0.00181 - 0.00918), b=3.09 (2.89 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (64 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 13.8 [2.7, 51.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.395 [0.094, 1.067] mg/100g; Protein = 19.3 [17.1, 21.3] %; Omega3 = 0.0792 [, ] g/100g; Selenium = 30.9 [9.5, 86.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 44.7 [15.7, 118.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.923 [0.453, 1.889] mg/100g (wet weight);