Size:
Max. 320cm, with average size between 200-250cm.

Appearance:
Broad square head.  Mouth at front of snout with long barbells and spiracles present.  Dorsal fins pointed and nearly equal in size, with first dorsal opposite the pelvic fin base.  Pectoral fins sickle-shaped.  Adults are uniformly tan in colour, juvenile specimens with spotted markings.

Distribution:
Found in Indian to W. Pacific Oceans, from Red Sea to Society Islands.  Depth ranges from intertidal to 70m

General:
An inshore species, commonly found in lagoons, on reef faces and in channels.  Swims with its body very close to the substrate and is often found resting under sheltered ledges and in crevices, sometimes with multiple animals found on top of one another in the same hole.

Feeding:
Typically feeds at night on a diet of invertebrates and bony fishes.

Reproduction:
Aplacental viviparous, no embryonic nourishment from placental structure in mother's uterus.  Litters of up to 8 pups, average size at birth 40cm.

Similar Species:
Can be mistaken for the Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum).  That species however has pointed pectoral fins and is limited to the Western Atlantic Ocean.

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