Raja Ampat epaulette shark (walking shark)

How it lives

It is nocturnal, resting by day in reef crevices and under corals. It uses its pectoral and pelvic fins to walk over the bottom. In the Dampier Strait study, 72.4% of sightings were in seagrass meadows and 13.3% on coral reefs, with coral reefs working as nursery habitat (about 69% of the sharks there were immature). Males and females mature at about 56.5 cm. It lays paired eggs, and its reproductive cycle is poorly known. Growth is about 7.8 cm a year when immature and 2.8 cm a year once mature.

Where it goes

Very local. In a 2024 to 2025 study in the Dampier Strait, the longest movement was about 475 m, and no tagged shark moved between islands. Individuals showed strong site fidelity.

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 on the IUCN Red List (2020 on FishBase, 2021 in a 2026 paper). It is endemic to the Raja Ampat region of West Papua, and older records elsewhere in New Guinea were confusion with other species. A 2024 to 2025 survey in the Dampier Strait found densities of 333 to 2,462 sharks per square kilometre, which are the highest recorded for the genus. Indonesia gave it full legal protection in 2023, and Raja Ampat Regency law protects sharks and rays. Threats include habitat loss in seagrass, climate change, artisanal fishing and aquarium collection. Other walking sharks nearby, such as Henry's and the Cenderawasih epaulette sharks, are rated Vulnerable.