- Where to see one
- 3 U.S. zoos in our directory hold epaulette shark, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the epaulette shark
The epaulette shark is a small carpet shark, usually under 1 m long, found in shallow tropical waters from the southern coast of New Guinea to northern Australia. It frequents coral flats, tidal pools and staghorn coral, sometimes in water barely deep enough to cover its body. Nocturnal, it feeds on small bottom-dwelling invertebrates and bony fishes. Its common name comes from a large, white-margined black spot behind each pectoral fin, resembling a military epaulette. Rather than swim, it often walks by wriggling its body and pushing with its paired fins.
Epaulette Shark facts
- It can survive complete oxygen loss for two hours without ill effects.
- In oxygen-poor tidal pools it increases blood supply to the brain and shuts down non-essential neural functions.
- Females lay pairs of egg capsules about every 14 days from August to December.
- Thousands are estimated to live on the reefs around Heron Island alone.
Where to see epaulette shark in the U.S.
3 zoos across 3 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 3 zoos holding epaulette shark by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
Louisiana· 1
North Carolina· 1
Oklahoma· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
