| Cartilaginous Fishes | Sharks |
Zebra Shark
Stegastoma fasciatum
| Conservation Status: Vulnerable
- 3
#3
- ©: Aquarium of the Pacific
- handfeeding one of our adult zebra sharks at the surface of the Coral Reef water
Zebra shark, the common name of these slow-swimming, non-aggressive, bottom-dwelling sharks, is derived from the coloration of the juveniles that have narrow bars reminiscent of a zebra’s stripes. The bars are lost in adults, becoming spots. The appearance of the adults has earned these sharks the common name of leopard shark in Australia.
Facts and Features
- Geographic Distribution
Indo-west Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to New Caledonia, north to southern Japan, south to coast of western Australia, around tropical north and south to central coast of New South Wales. Also Tonga.
- Amazing Facts
A zebra shark pup that is only 26 cm (10 in) at birth may become a 3.5 m (11.5 ft) adult zebra shark with a tail that is almost half its total length..
- At the Aquarium
Our adult zebra sharks are named Fern, Yin, Yang, and Baby. They have been trained to come to the surface of the water where they are hand fed a meal that may consist of headless sardines, whole squid from which the internal shells (pens) in the mantle have been removed, de-shelled clams, and/or hoki fillets. The quantity of food they are fed is based on the size of the individual shark.
