Zebra shark
Stegostoma tigrinum
Size, compared with you
You: 1.7 m. Zebra shark: 2.5 m.
Person-sized. Grows up to about 2.5 m.
The zebra shark lives on tropical coral reefs and sandy seafloor in the Indian and Pacific oceans. Babies have stripes, but adults grow spots instead, and the species is Endangered.
The weird bit
Baby zebra sharks have light stripes on a brown background, but as they grow the pattern breaks up into dark spots on a lighter body. A few zebra sharks in aquariums have even had pups without a mate.
Quick facts
- Where it lives
- Coral reef, Coast and shallows0 to 62 m down
- What it eats
- Shelled molluscs, crustaceans and small bony fishes
- How worried are we?
- In danger (Endangered)Assessed in 2023 by the IUCN Red List.