Stegostoma fasciatum
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The zebra shark (Stegostoma tigrinum), also known as the Indo-Pacific leopard shark, is a species of carpet shark and the only extant member of the family Stegostomatidae. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, frequenting coral reefs and sandy flats to a depth of 62 m (200 ft). Zebra sharks are distinctive in appearance, with adults possessing five longitudinal ridges on a cylindrical body, a low caudal fin comprising nearly half the total length, and typically a pattern of dark spots on a pale background. Young zebra sharks under 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long have a completely different pattern, consisting of light vertical stripes on a brown background, and lack the ridges. This species attains a length of 2.5 m (8.2 ft).
Zebra sharks are nocturnal and spend most of the day resting motionless on the sea floor. At night, they actively hunt for molluscs, crustaceans, small bony fishes, and possibly sea snakes inside holes and crevices in the reef. Though solitary for most of the year, they form large seasonal aggregations. The zebra shark is oviparous: females produce several dozen large egg capsules, which they anchor to underwater structures via adhesive tendrils. Innocuous to humans and hardy in captivity, zebra sharks are popular subjects of ecotourism dives and public aquaria. The World Conservation Union has assessed this species as Endangered worldwide, as it is taken by commercial fisheries across most of its range (except off Australia) for meat, fins, and liver oil. There is evidence that its numbers are dwindling. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ningaloo Marine Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Zebra Shark sighting in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 7th most-seen of the 24 sharks and rays we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and December
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Zebra Shark in Ningaloo Marine Park on a given day, against about 10% in January and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Zebra Shark sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Ningaloo Marine Park, in our data
Ningaloo Marine Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Zebra Shark sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Orectolobiformes
The closest relatives of the Zebra Shark that you can see in Ningaloo Marine Park (order Orectolobiformes, Carpet Sharks) are Whale Shark (about 60%), Tasselled Wobbegong (about 40%) and Tawny Nurse Shark (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Zebra Shark is recorded against all the sharks and rays logged in Ningaloo Marine Park (26 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
