Freycinet's Epaulette Shark

fieldmarks: Mouth well in front of eyes, spineless dorsal fins far posterior on tail, extremely elongated thick precaudal tail, long and low anal fin just anterior to caudal fin, large dark spots on snout, dark wide-spaced spots on body, a moderately large black spot on flanks above pectoral fins, no black hood or white spots. Prebranchial head and snout without a black hood; underside of head uniformly light and without dark spots in adults, but with two broad dark bands in yound; several small to large dark spots mostly subequal to eye length present on preorbital snout. Black epaulette spot of shoulder moderately large, not in the form of a conspicuous white-ringed ocellus, nor with two or more additional round or oblong dark spots surrounding the posterior half of the epaulette spot. White spots absent from fins and body; fins and body covered with small to large and sparse dark spots that do not form a reticular network of light background colour between them; pectoral and pelvic fins with conspicuous dark webs and light margins in young, changing to scattered small and large dark spots in adults. Dark saddles on dorsal surface and sides of tail extending as dark crossbands onto ventral surface of the preanal tail (from pelvic-fin bases to anal-fin origin) in young, but saddles and crossbands are lost in adults which have uniform light ventral surfaces on their preanal tails.

Western South Pacific: Indonesia (Irian Jaya, Waigeo), Papua New Guinea (Trobriand Islands from Kuia Island, Milne Bay, and east of Oro Bay).

To at least 72 cm total length. Smallest freeliving individual recorded 18.7 cm; males maturing between 37 and 62 cm; adult female 72.2 cm.

A little-known bottom shark, occurs on coral reefs, on sand, and in seagrass in shallow water. Common in parts of New Guinea.Biology poorly known. It hides in reef crevices during the day and feeds at night.

Interest to fisheries none at present. It is not known if this shark is being affected by the aquarium trade. Conservation Status : Its conservation status urgently needs to be assessed because part of its limited range is being impacted by expanding fisheries, including dynamite and poison fisheries that are destroying coral reefs, and possibly localized toxic pollution from riverine mining activities.