Interesting

A newly discovered species of shark that 'walks' along the sea floor to hunt for its next meal, has been discovered and filmed by scientists.

In the intriguing video, the spotty fish, which is a type of bamboo shark, uses its front four fins to crawl along the sea floor in a clever technique to sneak up on its prey off the islands of Indonesia.

It has been named hemiscyllium halmahera after the group of sharks it is closely related to and also the place it was found, the eastern Maluku island of Halmahera.

The shark, which is harmless to humans, grows up to 27 inches in length and two specimens, which differed slightly in colour, were spotted hugging the sea floor to search for small fish and invertebrates to feast on at night.
    

A video captured the creature's unusual hunting habits at the Weda Resort on one of the Maluku Islands.

Mark Erdmann, a coral reef ecologist and marine conservationist, filmed the shark on the small island of Halmahera and said his team were very excited at the discovery.
     He said: 'Local indigenous communities have been aware of the shark for many generations - but it only came to the attention of science once diving began to take off in the region.

'Walking sharks are an excellent ambassador for marine conservation and for the conservation of sharks in general.
     Dr Gerard Allen, a biologist at Conservation International, led the team that found the fish, whose research is published in the International Journal of Ichthyology.
     Its unusual wriggling 'walking' action could help scientists understand how some of the first animals evolved from living in the sea to walking on land.
     Before now similar types of shark had been confined to the island of New Guinea and northern Australia and scientists from Indonesia and Australia are now working to find a connection between the species.
     It is thought the species could help save the shark population in the area.
     Indonesia is well known for exporting shark fins as food or medicine but this discovery comes alongside an announcement by the government to increase marine tourism and conservation.