A new species of shark that "walks" along the seabed using its fins as legs has been discovered in eastern Indonesia.
The shark, which grows over 30 inches, is harmless to humans and was discovered off Halmahera, one of the Maluku Islands near west of New Guinea, according to Conservation International and the Western Australian Museum.
Video of the newly discovered brown and white shark shows that it pushes itself on the ocean floor looking for food like crustaceans and small fish.
"The epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium halmahera, uses its fins to walk across the ocean floor in search of small fish and crustaceans," Emmeline Johansen of Conservation International's Asia Pacific Field Division, said to Discovery News.
This species is one of just nine known walking sharks in the entire world, according to Johansen.
Bamboo sharks usually have long tails that are bigger than the rest of their bodies and are usually seen in waters near Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
"After nearly three decades as the world's largest exporter of dried shark fins and other shark and ray products, Indonesia is now focusing on the tremendous economic potential of its sharks and rays as living assets," Johansen said. "In the last six months' alone, two of the country's top marine tourism destinations, Raja Ampat and West Manggarai have declared their waters as fully protected shark and ray sanctuaries."
A study discussing the new walking shark was published in July in the Journal of Ichthyology.
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