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Project Noah Nature School
Chiloscyllium punctatum
This is a juvenile Brown Banded Bamboo Shark - Chiloscyllium punctatum. Saw it during a night dive when it was out in the open hunting for food, mostly for crustaceans (crabs) hiding under the sands. This the juvenile phase, they have very distinct dark and light bands. This one was just around 25-30 cm in length and slender, a friend mentioned, could it be that they are trying to mimic a banded seas snake since sea snakes are venomous and this mimicry may offers them 'protection' from their predators who will likely stay away from sea snakes.
They usually hides under rocks and crevices during day time and can only be seen at night in full when they are out foraging for food.
Classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
Spotted on May 8, 2017
Submitted on May 26, 2017
3 Comments
Thanks, @Polilla/Barb :)
Thanks, @Jordi :)
Don't know for sure if that's how they evolve but it makes nice markings to make them stands out :D
Great finding Albert! it seems to be also thin and elongated making him more similar to a sea snake.