A shark was found to be walking along the bottom of the ocean floor looking for small fish and crustaceans off the Indonesian coast.
Scientists from Conservation International announced the discovery of the “Hemiscyllium Halmahera” on Friday, which was found off the coast of Ternate island, near Halmahera.
The species of bamboo shark uses its fins to “walk” along the seabed, and is the sixth species of walking shark found in Indonesian waters, with three other species found elsewhere around the globe.
Biologist Dr Gerald Allen, from Conservation International, led the team that discovered the shark, and noted that the shark was differentiated from other species on the basis of its colouring, writing in the International Journal of Ichthyology:
“The new species is clearly differentiated on the basis of colour pattern…Its features include a general brown colouration with numerous clusters of mainly 2-3 dark polygonal spots, widely scattered white spots in the matrix between dark clusters.”
Walking sharks may show an evolutionary step as animals moved from the water onto land.
1 Comment
how do new species just appear out of no where? i thought evolution was a gradual thing..or is it we just don’t look hard enough :)