Epaulette shark
Scientific name: Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Bonnaterre, 1788)
Overview
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Epaulette shark”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
Common names
Also known in English as itar shark.
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- قرش الكتاف
- Chinese
- 肩章鯊
- French
- requin-chabot ocellé
- Japanese
- エポーレットシャーク
- Persian
- کوسه سردوشی
- Portuguese
- tubarão-epaulette
- Russian
- Глазчатая кошачья акула
- Spanish
- bamboa ocelada
- Turkish
- Apolet köpek balığı
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q29243, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Epaulette shark”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Chris_huh, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026