Slender Bamboo Shark

About the Slender Bamboo Shark

The Slender Bamboo Shark is a bamboo shark in the family Hemiscylliidae, found in the Indo-West Pacific Oceans.

Biology and Description:

The Slender Bamboo Shark has a mouth located in front of the eyes. Has an elongated precaudal tail. The dorsal fins are round, same size, and smaller than the pelvic fins. This shark is of a brownish color with a number of dark spots and dashes. This species reaches a maximum size of 65 cm TL with males maturing at 39 and 42 cm TL and females at 43 cm TL. It is oviparous, deposits eggs in small, oval egg cases at the bottom. Paired eggs are laid. Embryos feed solely on the yolk. Feeds on bottom-dwelling invertebrates, and also small fishes.

Habitat:

The Slender Bamboo Shark is a fresh-water, demersal shark, but little-known slugging bottom shark.  It is found on sandy and muddy bottoms of coastal waters, bays and inlets, and rocky coral reefs. This shark’s distribution is uncertain but mainly occurs in the Indo-West Pacific Oceans from the Arabian Sea to India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and the Solomon Islands. Probably occurring in Japan and Korea.

Conservation:

The Slender Bamboo Shark is of considerable interest to fisheries in some areas and is regularly taken in inshore fisheries in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand and utilized fresh for food. There are currently no conservation measures in place for this species.

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