Hemiscyllium sharks of the family
Hemiscylliidae are also known as
walking sharks and
Epaulette sharks. These small, nocturnal, benthic dwelling swimmers have evolved to be able to 'walk', or use their fins to propel themselves over rocks, into pools, or into small crevices in their habitats. Research from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the
University of Queensland in Australia They have short snouts with
nostrils placed almost at the tip, well-elevated eyes, and supraorbital ridges. The mouth is closer to the tip of the snout than the eyes and lacks the connecting dermal fold across the chin. The pectoral and pelvic fins are thick and heavily muscular. Either a black hood on the head or a large black spot on the sides of the body is present, though juveniles often are strongly marked with dark spots/bars. This shark family can survive around two hours out of water without any internal damage, can tolerate high levels of CO2, and are hypoxia and anoxia tolerant. == Adaptations ==