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Newly discovered shark species 'walks' on its fins

Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
September 18, 2006

In this undated photo released by Conservation International, an epaulette shark (Hemiscyillum freycineti) rests on the sea bottom. (Associated Press)

Researchers have discovered dozens of new marine species on the northwestern end of Indonesia’s Papua province, including two new species of epaulette sharks, nicknamed “walking sharks” because they propel themselves across the ocean floor on their pectoral fins.

A third species of the shark was originally identified in the 19th century.

Two expeditions this year to the Coral Triangle also turned up previously unknown species of flasher wrasse fish and reef-building corals.

In all, the scientists discovered more than 50 species of fish, coral and mantis shrimp in the Bird’s Head Seascape in the center of the Coral Triangle. The seascape is home to more than 1,200 species of fish and almost 600 species of reef-building coral, and only 11 percent of the area is protected.

As a result, the diverse ecosystem is under threat from overfishing, often using dynamite and cyanide, and by coastal pollution from deforestation and mining, said Mark Erdmann, who led the survey for Conservation International.

“These Papuan reefs are literally ’species factories’ that require special attention to protect them from unsustainable fisheries and other threats so they can continue to benefit their local owners and the global community,” Erdmann said. “Six of our survey sites, which are areas the size of two football fields, had over 250 species of reef-building coral each — that’s more than four times the number of coral species of the entire Caribbean Sea.”

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