New walking shark species identified in Papua New
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- Hemiscyllium dudgeonae has been confirmed as a new species of walking shark found only in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, after DNA tests showed it is genetically distinct from all other species in the genus.
- Christine Dudgeon of the University of the Sunshine Coast first spotted the shark in March 2025, wading through about a metre of water over a seagrass meadow after midnight; the species was subsequently named in her honour.
- The nearly three-quarter-metre-long shark has a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes that researcher Jess Blakeway compared to "braille or morse code," setting it apart from the leopard-like patterning of related species.
- Over the next few days, the team caught 12 individuals across three nearby sites, keeping three for further study and releasing the remaining nine after collecting samples.
- Walking sharks of the genus Hemiscyllium use their pectoral fins like legs to waddle across reef flats at low tide and are known only from Australia and New Guinea; nine other species had been described prior to this discovery.
- H. dudgeonae faces threats from coastal development, palm oil plantation expansion, and coral bleaching, and the researchers believe it is likely the most endangered of all walking sharks.
- Locals have long been aware of the animal, calling it kadedekekewa — meaning "dog shark" or "lazy shark" — for its waddling gait across exposed reef flats.
Why it matters: H. dudgeonae appears restricted to a single bay in Milne Bay, and researchers say it is probably the most endangered of all walking sharks — a genus confined entirely to Australia and New Guinea. Coastal development, palm oil expansion, and coral bleaching are already degrading the seagrass and reef habitats it depends on, putting this newly documented species at risk of local extinction before its biology is even fully studied.
