Hemiscyllium ocellatum

Hemiscylliidae
Epaulette Shark, Blind Shark, Itar Shark
  • Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Keppel Is, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
    Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Keppel Is, QLD, Photo: Andrew Green
  • Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
    Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Ian Shaw
  • Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Keppel Is, QLD, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
    Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Keppel Is, QLD, Photo: Rick Stuart-Smith
  • Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Barrier Reef, QLD, Photo: Graham Edgar
    Hemiscyllium ocellatum, Great Barrier Reef, QLD, Photo: Graham Edgar
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Numerous black spots on body and tail, and large black ocellus with white margin behind base of pectoral fin. 'Walks' using pectoral fins among shallow coral pools at night. Can survive intertidal pools heated by the sun with almost no oxygen.
Information
  • Max Size: 107 cm
  • Sea Temperature Range: 18.8-32.2°C
  • Depth: 0-50m
  • Habitat: Coral Reef, Rocky Reef, Soft sediment
Rarity
  • Threats: By-catch, Exploitation, Habitat degradation
  • IUCN Threat Status: Least Concern
  • Occurrence: Infrequent (4% of sites)
    Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
  • Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
    Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: extract from RD Stuart-Smith, GJ Edgar, AJ Green, IV Shaw. 2015. Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland
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