Shark

Triton Bay epaulette shark

Hemiscyllium henryi

IUCN status: VulnerableWidely sought

A small nocturnal carpet shark described from the Triton Bay region. It uses its paired fins to move across shallow reef habitat and is best sought on careful night dives.

Max size
Up to about 82cm
Habitat
Shallow coral reefs in the Kaimana region of West Papua

Best places to dive with Triton Bay epaulette shark

rareoccasionalcommonly seenpeak season
Triton Bay
Sighting likelihood by month
MonthLikelihood
Januaryoccasional
Februaryoccasional
Marchoccasional
Apriloccasional
Mayoccasional
Juneoccasional
Julyoccasional
Augustoccasional
Septemberoccasional
Octoberoccasional
Novemberoccasional
Decemberoccasional

Narrow-range night-dive target; a local guide materially improves the odds.

Sources & last checked

Checked September 2026

Research is source-backed, but conditions and fees should still be confirmed locally.

View 1 source and checking notes

Note on the data: The current IUCN listing is Vulnerable. Older secondary pages still reproduce the previous Data Deficient or Near Threatened assessment.