Brownbanded bamboo shark

How it lives

Lives on coral reefs, tide pools, sand flats and seagrass from the shore down to about 85 m, and is nocturnal. It lays eggs that hatch after about three months. Juveniles are barred dark and pale, and adults are an overall brown with faint bands. It can survive out of water for up to 12 hours, which suits tide pools. Females in the Indo-Malay region mature at about 67 to 70 cm, and those in Australia and Papua New Guinea at about 84 to 87 cm. In public aquariums it has lived up to 25 years.

Where it goes

Movements are not described in the sources I read. It is a bottom-dweller of shallow reefs, tide pools and seagrass, found down to about 85 m.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Near Threatened worldwide (IUCN, assessed 2023 according to FishBase), with low resilience and a minimum population doubling time of 4.5 to 14 years. Habitat loss, pollution and capture for food and the aquarium trade are named as threats. A genetic study found four distinct groups in the Indo-Australian region: Indo-Malay, west Sumatra, the Lesser Sunda islands and Australia with Papua New Guinea. Fishing pressure differs between them, with intensive trawling in the Indo-Malay region. I did not find a population count.