Leopard shark: photo of a spotted predator. Leopard shark

Leopard shark is a representative of the genus of baleen cat sharks.

This species is endemic, meaning it has a limited habitat, namely the part of the ocean adjacent to the South African coast.

The leopard shark is a bottom dweller. It is found at a depth of 20-30 meters. The shark prefers rocky reefs with a lot of vegetation or a sandy bottom with thick algae. In these places, the leopard shark hides during the daytime and comes out to hunt at night.

Appearance of a leopard shark

Although these sharks have a formidable name, in terms of aggressiveness and size they are in many ways inferior to other members of the family.

The maximum body length of a shark is approximately 80 centimeters, and individuals weigh a little more than 3 kilograms. Moreover, females are smaller than males.

The leopard shark's muzzle is flattened and slightly pointed. The large mouth contains many sharp teeth. There are 2 dorsal fins on the body, moved closer to the tail. The pectoral fins are quite wide. The shark's skin is protected on top by placoid scales, the same as those of other sharks.

This type of shark is very small compared to other toothy predators of the family.

The color of the back ranges from light to dark, while the belly is almost white. There is a clear boundary of color change. The back is decorated with fancy patterns of large and small dark spots. Sometimes the spots merge with each other, resulting in stripes. The pattern changes with age.

Also, the color may vary depending on the habitat, that is, some groups have the same color, while the shade of other sharks is noticeably different.

Behavior and nutrition of the leopard predator

Leopard sharks live in schools. These small predators hunt small fish and invertebrates. These sharks spend their entire lives on the ocean floor. They often get entangled in fishermen's nets and die.

When threatened, leopard sharks hide in holes or in algae, and if there is no shelter nearby, they curl up into a ring and cover their muzzle with their tail.

Reproduction and lifespan

Leopard sharks lay eggs. The eggs are in a small bag made of a thin film; the bag has small antennae along the edges, with the help of which it is attached to algae, that is, the shark does not lay them on the seabed. There are 2 eggs in the container.

After 5 months, small sharks hatch from the eggs, they break the film and get out to freedom. The body length of newborns is only 10-11 centimeters.

The leopard shark has luxurious colors.

When the body length of males reaches 45-65 centimeters, they reach puberty, and for females this period begins when they grow to 40-60 centimeters.

The lifespan of a leopard shark is 15 years. But aquarium sharks survive to this age, but the life expectancy of wild individuals is not known.

Leopard shark and man

For people, leopard sharks are completely harmless. These predators have edible meat, but for some reason it is not customary to eat it. These bottom-dwelling fish are hunted only for the purpose of catching them for life in an aquarium. Due to their unusual color, leopard sharks look very impressive in large aquariums.

This species is endemic, meaning it has a limited habitat, namely the part of the ocean adjacent to the South African coast.

Appearance of a leopard shark

Although these sharks have a formidable name, in terms of aggressiveness and size they are in many ways inferior to other members of the family.

The maximum body length of a shark is approximately 80 centimeters, and individuals weigh a little more than 3 kilograms. Moreover, females are smaller than males.

Also, the color may vary depending on the habitat, that is, some groups have the same color, while the shade of other sharks is noticeably different.

Behavior and nutrition of the leopard predator

When threatened, leopard sharks hide in holes or in algae, and if there is no shelter nearby, they curl up into a ring and cover their muzzle with their tail.

Reproduction and lifespan

After 5 months, small sharks hatch from the eggs, they break the film and get out to freedom. The body length of newborns is only 10-11 centimeters.

When the body length of males reaches 45-65 centimeters, they reach puberty, and for females this period begins when they grow to 40-60 centimeters.

The lifespan of a leopard shark is 15 years. But aquarium sharks survive to this age, but the life expectancy of wild individuals is not known.

Leopard shark and man

The population size is unknown. But since leopard sharks are often caught in nets, it can be assumed that there are quite a lot of them, and the population is not in danger of extinction.

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The spotted bearded shark belongs to the family of carpet or baleen sharks (Orectolobidae), which includes several dozen species. One of them is the bearded shark. She is easily recognized by the beard that borders her head. These outgrowths give the shark a very funny look.

Bearded sharks can be found in the western part Pacific Ocean. In particular, our heroine lives off the coast of Northern Australia, New Guinea and Eastern Indonesia. And its close “relative” - the Japanese bearded shark - is found in the southeastern part of the Sea of Japan, in the South China and East China Seas, as well as in the Yellow Sea. She swims at shallow depths, among coral reefs.

The shark is of average size - approximately 1-1.5 meters. Although some specimens can reach 3-4 meters, this happens very rarely. And does it even happen?

Juvenile bearded shark

Its flattened body is grayish or yellowish-brown in color with large light spots. This allows the shark to easily camouflage itself among the sandy bottom and corals.

The spotted color allows the shark to easily camouflage itself among corals and sandy bottoms.

Large light spots on yellowish-brown color

She's wide enough pectoral fins and a head, which is decorated with an equally wide mouth with small teeth with several peaks. Its head is decorated with leathery fleshy outgrowths - “antennae” or “beard”, with the help of which the shark easily “combs” the sand in search of small bottom fish.

Unique goatee

In addition to fish, bearded sharks are not averse to snacking on invertebrate animals that live on the bottom.

Only one thing is known about their reproduction - they are ovoviviparous.

It poses no danger to humans; the main thing is not to anger them. But if you let go of your hands, drag it by the tail and poke it with a stick, then a painful bite is guaranteed.

But more recently, a family of baleen sharks presented researchers with sea world surprise. 2 new species were discovered. The first was named Orectolobus floridus, and the second was Orectolobus parvimaculatus, which reached small sizes- only 70 centimeters. By the way, it is very similar to a spotted bearded shark, so at first researchers mistook it for a juvenile of this species.

Order: Orectolobiformes Compagno = Wobbegong-like

Family: Brachaeluridae Applegate = Saddle sharks

View: Brachaelurus waddi= Spotted saddle shark

Brachaelurus waddi = Spotted saddle shark.

Blind Shark = Brachaelurus waddi. The common name of this species - saddlery or blind shark - is due to the fact that the caught shark closes its eyes with thick eyelids when it is taken out of the water and falls into the hands of fishermen.

The spotted saddle shark is an inhabitant of the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean off Australia: found from southern Queensland and south to New South Wales (from Moreton Bay near Brisbane south to Jervis Bay).

The species' range lies in a square with the following geographical coordinates: 8°S - 33°S latitude, 112°e - 143°e longitude. The spotted saddle shark is found in subtropical climate and is closely related to marine reef associations, occurring at depths ranging from 0 to 70 m, and as an exception can dive up to 140 m.

A small, strong shark with nasal grooves, a short mouth in front of small eyes, very large vents. The vents are oval in shape and located horizontally opposite the posterior ends of the eyes. The head averages about 19% of the total body length. The number of Gills is 5-7.

It has two dorsal fins, which are close to each other and slightly offset towards the rear end of the body. A small anal fin is located just in front of the long caudal fin. Caudal fin with an upper lobe located at a slight angle above the body axis, with a powerful terminal lobe but without a pronounced ventral lobe.

The spotted saddle shark can reach a maximum body length of up to 122 cm, but the usual size is about 1 m. The main color of the body is brown, the lower ventral side is yellowish. There are light whitish spots over most of the body and about eleven dark “saddles” are present on the back. A series of distinct dark groups of stripes are present on the body of young animals, which gradually "blur out" and disappear as they reach adulthood.

The spotted saddle shark is usually found close to shore in surf areas (there should be barely enough water to cover the body), but sometimes deeper. Prefers rocky shoreline areas and coral reefs.

The spotted saddle shark comes out to feed mainly in the dark at night or twilight. During the day, young animals are found in the surf zone in shallow water, while adult sharks spend the day in various caves and niches of coral reefs, or simply hide under various ledges and stones.

Despite the predominantly nocturnal activity, the bait fish bolov can also be caught during the daytime.

Survives well when kept in saltwater aquariums and is capable of long-term survival out of water (up to 18 hours). The diet consists of small reef invertebrates and many types of small fish.

Reproduces by viviparity: from 2-3 to 7 or 8 young sharks per birth. In some cases, it can also lay eggs. Births are celebrated mainly in summer time-November (based on observations in Sydney and New South Wales).

Newborn babies are about 15-18 cm in length. Males become sexually mature when they reach approximately 62 cm in length, and females - 66 cm. Life expectancy: up to 25 years

The spotted saddle shark is an object of sport fishing. It does not attack humans, but if the shark is provoked, it can bite.

Shark meat is not used for food as it is bitter and has an ammonia-like taste. Only the anal fin is used to make shark soup.

The fishermen think this type harmful, due to feeding on fish and often they lose hooks, since they are difficult to get out of the throat of caught animals through its small mouth and strong jaws.

The leopard shark, also known as the Californian triple-tooth shark or spotted sharp-toothed mustelfish, belongs to the mustelidae family, which is quite possible, since the mustelidae family includes 7 genera and about 30 species. Latin name Triakis semifasciata.

The leopard shark has characteristic shape heads: while the muzzle of the fish itself is narrow, the mouth is quite wide and opens well - this is achieved due to the elongated and strongly curved oral line, as if cutting through most animal heads.

This feature of the location of the mouth slit allows for a powerful stream during hunting, which sometimes helps to bring the moment of contact with prey closer.

This also causes inconvenience, since with the current of water, the leopard shark sucks in everything in it, including sea worms, brown algae, as well as silt from the bottom.

The fish's mouth is toothy; in fact, the entire mouth is covered. The upper teeth are visible even when the mouth is closed.

The mouth has 10-15 rows of teeth in the upper and lower jaws. Each tooth has a narrow central point and two small lateral teeth. Unlike females, males have a slightly curved central tip of their teeth.

Like all sharks, they undergo the process of restoring lost teeth throughout their lives. And the leopard shark loses its teeth quite often, which is not surprising, because the main diet is hard-shell crabs, shrimp, shellfish and, if you’re lucky, small fish.

Photo of leopard shark teeth

Photo of leopard shark jaws

Watch video - Leopard shark:

What's special about the leopard shark?

In contrast to the narrow muzzle, the shark’s body is quite dense, which, however, does not interfere with its maneuverability. Maximum weight - up to 20 kg. The greatest length of a shark is up to 2.5 meters, but on average the body length is 0.9–1.5 meters.

Due to its feeding habits, it does not need high speed of movement, but large eyes with a nictitating membrane are extremely necessary for tracking food. Also clearly visible on the head, under the triangular growths.

Of course, the color of the shark is impressive, for which it is nicknamed leopard - on a silver-gray or bronze-gray background there are dark and light spots to match the color. Dark large horseshoe-shaped spots are located on the dorsal part along the ridge.

Closer to the belly, the color spots become lighter and decrease in size; Over the years, the spots fade. The belly, like all sharks, is at least a shade lighter, and sometimes whitish.

Does a leopard shark attack humans?

It is the beauty of the coloring, the kindly nature and small size that attract divers from all over the world to admire and take pictures against its background.

This is not always successful: the leopard shark - a spotted beauty - is quite shy and quickly moves away from the uninvited guest. The arrangement of their fins helps them in this - wide triangular pectoral fins, two rounded dorsal fins and a long tail.

In this regard, leopard sharks are considered not dangerous to people.

However, in 1995, there was a reported case of a leopard shark becoming aggressive and chasing a diver who suffered a nosebleed underwater. Fortunately, the episode ended well.

Watch the video "Diving with leopard sharks":

Habitat and reproduction of the leopard seal

The beauty's distribution area is not very large - the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, to the Gulf of California. The main temperature of the habitat is 10-12 degrees - this is the water temperature in shallow water, on average at a depth of 4-4.5 meters.

This type of shark especially loves quiet backwaters and bays, rocks and reefs - quite a sufficient habitat for finding and eating mollusks and crustaceans.

These fish are mainly “sedentary”. Having chosen a feeding place, sharks, as a rule, take root there. And only a strong drop in water temperature in winter time causes leopard sharks (especially those living in the northern part of their range) to move south.

Leopard sharks live quite a long time. Thus, sexual maturity is reached at the age of 10 years, and in an aquarium, in captivity, they can live up to 20 years. These are ovoviviparous fish that come to shallow waters in order to create offspring.

Watch video - Leopard shark in an aquarium:

Due to its unpretentiousness, the leopard shark is quite often caught to be placed in an aquarium for human amusement.

In this case, the shark’s small size, absence, and inability to develop high speed played a cruel joke - people not only disturb representatives of the species for the sake of interest and entertainment, but also eat them (as described in, they have tender, easily digestible meat).

Thus, the leopard shark belongs to commercial fish, the catch of which amounts to tens and hundreds of tons.

If we take into account that they reach sexual maturity after 10 years of age, then it is quite possible that with uncontrolled catching, the majority of representatives of the species will soon remain only in photographs.

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