New species of walking shark discovered off the coast of Papua New Guinea

Researchers have identified Hemiscyllium dudgeonae, a new walking shark species discovered off Papua New Guinea. Divers found the newly recognized tenth kind on the eastern coast, distinguished by a freckled brown body with white spots and dashes. Its confirmed range is extremely small—about 2,700 square miles (7,000 sq km) of shallow water—so the team expects it will eventually be listed as endangered once assessed. To document it, the group ran 70 surveys between November 2023 and March 2025 and captured animals by hand through dives, snorkeling and walking reef flats. DNA sequencing and marker scans were used, and the team reports one method failed to place it correctly, while others returned results linking the new animals to H. michaeli. The shark is named Dudgeon’s epaulette shark after shark geneticist Christine Dudgeon, and was described by Gerald Allen, Mark Erdmann, and PhD student Jess Blakeway.