Zebra bullhead shark

The zebra bullhead shark, Heterodontus zebra , is a bullhead shark of the family Heterodontidae, found in the subtropical western Pacific Ocean between latitudes 40° N to 20° S, at depths of between 50 and 200 m. Its length is up to 1.25 m.

The zebra bullhead shark is common but little-known, found on the continental and insular shelves in depths down to at least 50 m in the South China Sea, but deeper and in 150 to 200 m off Western Australia. It has a large blunt head, low supra-orbital crest gradually sloping behind the eyes, dorsal fin spines, an anal fin, and a zebra-pattern of dark, narrow vertical bands on a pale background. As characteristic of members of the family, the caudal fin has moderately long lobes, the ventral shorter than the dorsal lobe, and the vertebral axis is raised into the caudal-fin lobe.

It probably feeds on bottom invertebrates and small fishes. Reproduction is oviparous.

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