Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Orectolobiformes
(Carpet sharks) > Hemiscylliidae
Etymology: Hemiscyllium: Greek, hemi = half + Greek, skylla = a kind of shark (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 0 - 50 m (Ref. 54540). Tropical; 1°S - 34°S, 112°E - 163°E (Ref. 54540)
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 60 - ? cm
Max length : 107 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 247)
Western Pacific: New Guinea and northern Australia. Possibly occurring in Malaysia, Sumatra (Indonesia), and the Solomon Islands.
Commonly found in shallow water of coral reefs (Ref. 6871). Often in tide pools (Ref. 13575). Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 6871). Oviparous (Ref. 50449). Squirms when captured but cannot readily escape (Ref. 247). Survives well in aquariums (Ref. 6871). Has the ability to survive low oxygen conditions by switching of non-essential brain functions; apparently an adaption for hunting in tide-pools with low oxygen (Ref. 52022).
Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome: FAO.
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Fisheries: of no interest
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
CollaboratorsPicturesStamps, CoinsSoundsCiguateraSpeedSwim. typeGill areaOtolithsBrainsVision
Estimates of some properties based on empirical models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805
= 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00402 (-0.20851 - 0.21654), b=3.10019 (2.98233 - 3.21805), based on LWR estimates for this family-BS (Ref. 93245
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278
): 3.4 ±0.5 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278
): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153
): Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100) .