![]() Martina Nicolls is the author of Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom and other books. One of the most interesting stats about their size, however, is that they have incredibly lengthy, powerful tailswhich sometimes can make up nearly half their entire body length. ![]() Their lifespan has been estimated to be 25–30 years. Most sources note that zebra sharks tend to average between seven and nine feet in length, with the largest reported to be close to 12 feet long. The colour pattern is dark-brown above and light-yellow below, with vertical yellow stripes and spots. So, young Zebra Sharks have stripes, but adult Zebra Sharks have spots. During the warm months they will gather for mating and the females lay unusual looking eggs that use fibers to attach to coral reefs. Young Zebra Sharks, called hatchlings, have a completely different pattern than their parents, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background. Zebra Sharks grow to an average of 8.2 ft (2.5 m). The female lays up to 46 egg capsules which anchor onto plants and objects in the water. Adults reach a length of 6.6ft to 11.5ft (2-3.5m) and weight between 45 to 65 pounds (20-30kg). The Zebra Shark is usually solitary or it forms small groups of 20-50 individuals. Zebra sharks have a flattened body shape and a long tail fin. Weight: about 55 pounds (25 kilograms) Life. Class: Chondrichthyes Length: 7 to 8 feet (about 2.5 meters). It hunts at night for food, such as fish, snails, crabs, octopus, squid, and sea snakes. Its slender, flexible body enables it to wriggle into narrow holes and crevices in search of food. During the day, it rests motionless on the sea floor. The zebra shark, is a medium-sized (maximum length 2.5 m) member of the order Orectolobiformes (carpet sharks) and is found throughout shallow coastal waters of the tropical and subtropical Indo-West Pacific (Last and Stevens 2009). Quick Facts Scientific name: Stegostoma fasicatum. It is benthic, which means that it is a bottom-dweller. It is found in tropical waters in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. 43278).It grows to 250 centimetres (98 inches) in length. Reported from freshwater in the Philippines but needs to be confirmed (Ref. Caught in drift net intended for sharks (Ref. Utilized fresh and dried-salted for human consumption and also for fishmeal livers processed for vitamins fins dried for the oriental sharkfin trade offal utilized for fishmeal (Ref. The major threats to this species include bycatch from trawl fisheries and. Their dorsal fins are positioned towards the back of their body, and they have five gill slits on the sides of their head. As juveniles they are roughly 20cms long, but can grow up to 3.5 metres in length. They have a long, narrow body with a flattened head and a pointed snout. Slow-swimming and able to squirm into narrow cracks, crevices and channel in reefs while searching for food (Ref. Zebra sharks can grow up to 8.2 feet (2.5 meters) in length and weigh up to 44 pounds (20 kilograms). Also known to eat crustaceans (crabs and shrimps) and sea snakes (Ref. Probably nocturnal, feeds mainly on mollusks, but also small bony fishes (Ref. Rather sluggish at least during the day (Ref. ![]() Recorded to have entered freshwater (Ref. 125658).Ī tropical inshore shark found on sand, rubble, or coral bottoms of the continental and insular shelves (Ref. Two color morphs, with a three-stage ontogenetic color and pattern change: the Zebra morph with juveniles with dark brown background and cream colored bands (zebra-like), transitionals light brown with dark bands, broken up by dots and adults beige to yellow with spotted pattern (can be leopard-like) the sandy color morph: transitionals light beige background with swirly pattern of narrow, darker brown bands with tiny spots breaking up the pattern and with adults uniformly sandy beige with tiny dark brown freckles (Ref. 66-88% of pectoral fin vertebrae total 207-262, monospondylous precaudal 43-49, diplospondylous precaudal 38-50, diplospondylous caudal 120-175, precaudal vertebrae 81-101 tooth rows on upper jaw 13-30, on lower jaw 22-30, and series count, upper jaw: 7-27, lower 8-16 ring-type intestine with 18-20 valvular turns. This species is distinguished by the following characters: a long caudal fin (49.9-54.2% TL), five dorsolateral ridges along the body, visible even in hatchlings spiracles bean-shaped, large (length 0.4-1.7% TL) eyes small (length 0.9-2.1% TL) barbels two and short (0.6-2.8% TL) gill slits five, with fourth and fifth partly fused so only four noticeable from a distance pectoral fins large (anterior margin length 10.4-19.1% TL), are broad and rounded first dorsal fin originates far posteriorly above the pelvic fins pectoral-fin rays of semi-plesodic structure, reaching ca. ![]()
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