No type specimen was designated, though Seba included a comprehensive description in Latin and an accurate illustration of a juvenile. The zebra shark was first described as Squalus varius by Seba in 1758 (Seba died years earlier the publication was posthumous). There is evidence that its numbers are dwindling.Įarly taxonomists thought that juvenile zebra sharks were a different species because of their different appearance from adults. The World Conservation Union has assessed this species as Endangered worldwide, as it is taken by commercial fisheries across most of its range (except off Australia) for meat, fins, and liver oil. Innocuous to humans and hardy in captivity, zebra sharks are popular subjects of ecotourism dives and public aquaria. The zebra shark is oviparous: females produce several dozen large egg capsules, which they anchor to underwater structures via adhesive tendrils. Though solitary for most of the year, they form large seasonal aggregations.
At night, they actively hunt for molluscs, crustaceans, small bony fishes, and possibly sea snakes inside holes and crevices in the reef. Zebra sharks are nocturnal and spend most of the day resting motionless on the sea floor. This species attains a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft). Young zebra sharks under 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long have a completely different pattern, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background, and lack the ridges. Adult zebra sharks are distinctive in appearance, with five longitudinal ridges on a cylindrical body, a low caudal fin comprising nearly half the total length, and usually a pattern of dark spots on a pale background. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m (203 ft). The zebra shark ( Stegostoma tigrinum) is a species of carpet shark and the sole member of the family Stegostomatidae. Squalus pantherinus Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1852 Scyllia quinquecornuatum van Hasselt, 1823
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