Pyjama shark
Poroderma africanum
Size, compared with you
You: 1.7 m. Pyjama shark: 1.0 m.
Person-sized. Grows up to about 1.0 m.
The pyjama shark is a small shark with dark stripes, like pyjamas, that lives only off South Africa. It rests in caves and kelp by day and comes out at night to hunt.
The weird bit
When it feels threatened, the pyjama shark curls into a circle with its tail covering its head.
Quick facts
- Where it lives
- Coral reef, Coast and shallows0 to 100 m down
- What it eats
- Fish, squid, crabs, shrimp, shellfish and worms
- How worried are we?
- Doing okay (Least Concern)Assessed in 2019 by the IUCN Red List.