New shark species never seen before discovered

A nighttime dive to study wild sharks from the Hemiscyllium genus has led researchers to discover a new member of the family, Hemiscyllium dugeonae. According to a collaborative paper published on the scientific platform Zenodo, only nine morphologically similar species were previously known, sharing comparable color patterns and genetic markers. The discovery brings the total number of known Hemiscyllium sharks to 10.

Also known as walking sharks or epaulette sharks, these animals inhabit shallow tropical waters in northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. They have a remarkable ability to “walk” along the seafloor. Rather than swimming continuously, they use their pectoral and pelvic fins to move across coral reefs and rocky bottoms. They are harmless to humans.

The new species was found in a small area off the southeastern coast of Papua New Guinea. Jess Blakeway, a PhD student at UniSC and lead author of the study, was aboard one of the research vessels when principal investigator Christine Dudgeon brought the shark on board.

“I immediately realized the color pattern was different from any other species I’d worked with before,” Blakeway said.

“The first thing that stood out was the white stripes running along its brown body. They were very different from the leopard-like spots we were expecting. We placed it in a tub of fresh seawater so we had time to measure it and collect blood and tissue samples. Over the following two nights, we found another 11 individuals with the same pattern,” she explained.

“It wasn’t until we carried out the genetic analysis of the samples back in Australia that we could confirm it was a new species. It’s exciting because it’s the first new species described in this genus since 2013,” Blakeway added.

The newly identified shark was named Hemiscyllium dugeonae in honor of its discoverer, Christine Dudgeon. Local communities, however, know it as kadedekedewa, which translates as “dog shark” or “lazy shark” because of its slow, four-legged style of movement. Although the discovery has been celebrated, researchers believe the species is likely already at serious risk of extinction.

“The new species is the tenth member of the epaulette shark genus from Papua New Guinea. Five species are already listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List under Criterion B, which relates to their highly restricted geographic range—a criterion that applies to only 3% of all shark species. We hope to gather more data during our next research expedition in October to help the International Union for Conservation of Nature assess the species as Vulnerable or Endangered,” Blakeway said.

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