New Caledonia Shark - Underwater Panorama of a Leopard Shark Stegostoma Fasciatum
par Richard Chesher
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New Caledonia Shark - Underwater Panorama of a Leopard Shark Stegostoma Fasciatum
par Richard Chesher
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Photo panoramique par
Richard Chesher
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New Caledonia Shark - Underwater Panorama of a Leopard Shark Stegostoma FasciatumThe World > Les Iles de l'Océan Pacifique > Mélanesie > Nouvelle Calédonie |
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The Leopard Shark, Stegostoma fasciatus, reportedly eats small fish and molluscs. Molluscs probably make up the bulk if its diet. I can't imagine how it could catch a fish as this is one very lethargic creature. Freddy, who was watching me take this image, said it looked like a big log lying on the bottom until the shark decided my camera housing was intruding on its personal space (about 50cm from its nose) and it very slowly swam off with a small remora suckered onto its back. Possibly it feeds at night when many fish are asleep. Only a really sleepy fish could be caught by a leopard shark.
One look at the photo will tell you why this shark (a little under 2-metres long) is named after a Leopard, but when it is a juvenile it has vertical black and white stripes until it is about 0.4 metres long and is called a Zebra Shark.
They are normally found in the lagoon on sandy bottoms from 4 to 30 metres deep. They have probably never even contemplated biting a human although I think if you grabbed it by the tail it might be frightened enough to try.
This one was in the Ilot Mato Anchorage in New Caledonia's southern lagoon, part of the New Caledonia Lagoon World Heritage Site .
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New Caledonia Anchorage Aerial PanoramaThis New Caledonia Anchorage sphere image was taken from a kit...
Massive corals, like this 6 meter sphere of Porites, grow between 5 to 10mm per year making this one ...
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The crying sounds of puffins nesting on Ilot Mato wake up on the 23rd of March at 05:30. They cry lik...
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A family of ospreys (Pandion haliaetus melvillensis) live on Ilot Mato in the great south lagoon of N...
There is something very special about the shallow lagoon sand and coral flats of New Caledonia. You'd...
Une Nation du Pacifique Sud, la plus proche de l'Australie et de la Nouvelle Zélande. Une chaîne de hautes montagnes, d'impressionnantes cascades et de nombreuses rivières avec une flore et une faune variée et souvent unique au monde - C'est le paradis de la randonnée pédestre ou équestre ainsi que de l'excursion en véhicule tout-terrain.
Le plus grand lagon du monde, peuplé d'une faune tropicale endémique particulièrement riche, avec des récifs et des populations de poissons rares et protégées. Des centaines d'épaves sous-marines, des îlots, de nombreuses plages de sable blanc.
La population calédonienne est issue d'un large brassage culturel : Mélanésiens, Européens, Polynésiens, Vietnamiens, Chinois, Japonais, et la langue et culture française. La Nouvelle-Calédonie est dotée de très bonnes infrastructures médicales et sociales.
Une infrastructure touristique qui offre un large éventail de types d'hébergement allant de l'hôtel 5 étoiles au camping aménagé en passant par l'accueil en milieu tribal, les chambres d'hôtes, les refuges et l'auberge de jeunesse.
