Marine life in Indonesia is rich with countless species. One of them is known as hiu karpet berbintik or speckled carpetsharks. These sea creatures are also indigenous animals in Papua and West Papua. The sad thing is, just like all beautiful creatures on earth, these sharks are also an endangered species. Let’s get to know them to save them.
These carpetsharks are endemic sea animals from Indonesia. This species has a Latin name called Hemiscyllium freycineti. These creatures are part of the Hemiscylliidae tribe, and the genus is Hemiscyllium.
The speckled carpetsharks belong to the vertebrate group of animals. It means they have backbones or spines. They can only be found in Papua and West Papua, which more specific location is the Raja Ampat Islands. They were first discovered back in 2003.
The Speckled Carpetsharks’ Morphologic Descriptions
Their skin pattern reminds us of the skin pattern of a leopard’s. With brown specks all over their bodies, these sharks stand out in the water. The pattern spreads evenly all over their surface (the upper-side of their bodies). On their snouts, the brown specks are much smaller – almost like dark spots.
These indigenous animals in Papua look like other regular sharks on the outside, despite the brown specks on their skin. Each has a tail, two side fins, two fins in the back, two eyes on the top of the head, and a snout. These sharks also have long bodies like other regular sharks.
What sets these carpetsharks apart from other sharks are not just the spots. Their side snouts are also smaller, and their mouths are in front of their eyes. They have spiracles under their eyes. Their fins have a thick, triangular shape with a blunt tip.
The speckled carpetsharks can be as long as 46 cm, either they are male or female. They generally swim below sea level down to 12 meters. They eat small animals; all of them are invertebrates.
Still, the exact depth that they swim in is unknown. Just like Brownbanded bamboo sharks, these sharks are nocturnal. They hide in reef crevices when the sun is up. Their brown skins and dark spots help them to disguise themselves between reef crevices.
Their dark specks or spots may remind you of a military uniform, which is probably pretty accurate. Their younger ones have several darker brown saddles. These extend as crossbands on their backs and tails. These bands will soon disappear when they reach maturity. The bands will turn into regular dark spots.
These sharks are also oviparous when it comes to breeding. It means the female ones lay their eggs before the eggs hatch. Other unique facts about them include these:
- They can survive for an hour without oxygen.
- They can sometimes walk on their fins to stay away from their attackers and survive above the water.
Generally, these sharks are not as dangerous as white sharks in Australia. They are far more docile and peaceful. They prefer laying low in the daylight and only come out at night. However, that does not mean they will not defend themselves when they feel threatened.
If you try to touch them and they do not like it, be ready to get bitten.
Their Habitation:
These lovely sea creatures live in shallow water, where there are also coral reefs, sands, and seaweeds. The distribution of these sharks includes Papua, Wigeo, and also Papua New Guinea.
Then how endangered are these indigenous animals in Papua?
These sharks are included in the list of endangered animals. One main cause is the huge number of coral reefs being destroyed by humans. When they want to catch fish as many as possible, many of them use dynamites. Once they explode, the coral reefs nearby are also destroyed. It does not help because many speckled carpetsharks hide in the reef crevices during the day. Then, they become the casualties of the dynamite users because they cannot see these sharks.
Another reason is the beauty of their brown specks. Many people catch them so that they can become their pets in the aquariums.
It does not matter that many poachers offer these animals at such high prices. Many people, usually rich ones, would like to own some of these sharks in their aquariums. High demands on speckled carpetsharks have reduced their population in their natural habitat.
These sharks are listed in the IUCN Red List. IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation Nature. It means they are protected and should never be exploited.
How can we help to keep these lovely indigenous animals in Papua and West Papua alive? For starters, let’s not use dynamites when we would like to catch fish. We will harm the coral reefs and the speckled carpetsharks in hiding. The second one is not to catch them and keep them in our aquariums. These animals belong to nature, not inside our living rooms, just for show.
