science
Tenth Walking Shark Species Identified in Papua New Guinea's Milne Bay
@NewScientist reported the formal identification of Hemiscyllium dudgeonae as the tenth walking shark species. Researchers captured the first specimen in March 2025 and confirmed its genetic distinction through DNA tests. The species is known only from coral reefs in Milne Bay.
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Researchers have identified a new species of walking shark in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Hemiscyllium dudgeonae is the tenth recorded species in the genus, which moves across reef flats using its pectoral fins. Christine Dudgeon of the University of the Sunshine Coast first encountered the shark after midnight in March 2025 while swimming in one metre of water over a seagrass meadow.
The individual measured nearly three-quarters of a metre long. Dudgeon captured it with a technique called the flip and tuck before handing it to colleague Jess Blakeway. Blakeway noted that the shark's colour pattern differed from other known species.
Over the following days the team caught 11 more individuals at three nearby locations. Three were retained for study and nine had tissue samples taken before release. DNA tests confirmed that Hemiscyllium dudgeonae is genetically distinct from all other species in the genus.
The species is named after Dudgeon and is thought to live only among the coral reefs of Milne Bay. The formal description was published in the Journal of the Ocean Science Foundation.
