Port Jackson shark
Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Size, compared with you
You: 1.7 m. Port Jackson shark: 1.6 m.
Person-sized. Grows up to about 1.6 m.
The Port Jackson shark is a bottom-dwelling shark from the cool waters of southern Australia, easy to spot by the dark harness-like stripes on its body. It hides in caves and rocky gullies by day and feeds at night.
The weird bit
Its front teeth are small and pointed, but its back teeth are flat and blunt, made for crushing the shells of its prey.
Quick facts
- Where it lives
- Coral reef, Coast and shallows0 to 275 m down
- What it eats
- Sea urchins, shellfish, crabs and some small fish
- How worried are we?
- Doing okay (Least Concern)Assessed in 2015 by the IUCN Red List.