Epaulette shark

Hemiscyllium ocellatum

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–265 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Anne Hoggett / Lizard Island Research Station, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The epaulette shark is a species of longtailed carpet shark of the family Hemiscylliidae, found in shallow, tropical waters off Australia and New Guinea. The common name of this shark comes from the very large, white-margined black spot behind each pectoral fin, which are reminiscent of military epaulettes. A small species, the epaulette shark has a slender body with a short head and broad, paddle-shaped paired fins. The caudal peduncle comprises over half the shark's length. Adults are light brown above, with scattered darker spots and indistinct saddles.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Epaulette shark”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 63 records
February: 23 records
March: 18 records
April: 40 records
May: 33 records
June: 25 records
July: 44 records
August: 51 records
September: 112 records
October: 86 records
November: 68 records
December: 42 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–265 m · Deepest record: 265 m

0–10 m: 6 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 9 records
24–26 °C: 41 records
26–28 °C: 24 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) coenobita, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by coenobita · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Daniel Eisenhauer, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Matt B, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Patrick Connolly, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Thomas Mesaglio, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Epaulette shark, Itar shark, Blind Shark, Epaulette, Epaulette Cat Shark, epaulette shark, itar shark

Names in 4 more languages

German: Augenfleck-Bambushai, Epaulettenhai, Ocellus-Lippenhai, Schwarzfleckiger Bambushai
Spanish: bamboa ocelada, Bamboa ocellada
French: requin-chabot ocellé
Japanese: マモンツキテンジクザメ

Other scientific names: Squalus ocellatus, Squalus oculatus

Similar species

Freckled carpet shark
Hemiscyllium freycineti
Papuan epaulette shark
Hemiscyllium hallstromi
Cat shark
Hemiscyllium trispeculare
Leopard Epaulette shark
Hemiscyllium michaeli
Hooded carpet shark
Hemiscyllium strahani
Brownbanded bamboo shark
Chiloscyllium punctatum

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
194 open-data records from 1910 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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