The zebra shark, also known as the variegated shark, is a slow-moving shark of coral reefs. It can reach 3.5 m or more, and young and adult fish look quite different from each other.

At a glance

  • Dhivehi name: Faana miyaru

  • Scientific name: Stegostoma fasciatum (newer references often use Stegostoma tigrinum)

  • Family: Stegostomatidae (zebra sharks)

  • Size: Up to 3.5 m or more

  • Found: Coral reefs

How to recognise it

Close view of a zebra shark on the sandy seabed with dark spots along its pale body
A zebra shark off Thailand, showing the dark spots of an adult. - Photo: Sigmund / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Adults are pale brown with dark spots, while juveniles are dark brown with vertical yellow stripes. The tail fin is very long, about half of the shark's total length. There are small barbels, or whiskers, on either side of the small mouth, and prominent ridges run along the sides of the body. The first dorsal fin sits well back and is much larger than the second.

Habitat and behaviour

A zebra shark swimming over white sand beside a coral reef, its long tail stretched behind it
A zebra shark swimming beside a reef off Gladstone, Australia, with its very long tail in view. - Photo: Geoff Shuetrim / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

It is strictly nocturnal, feeding at night on molluscs, sea snakes, crustaceans and fish. It lays eggs. Its range stretches across the Indo-West Pacific.

Where to see it

Look on the bottom near coral reefs. Dive guides list zebra sharks at Banana Reef in North Malé Atoll. Keep your distance and never touch a resting shark.

Did you know?

Zebra sharks are not very common in the Maldives, but divers occasionally see one resting on the bottom. They are unaggressive when approached underwater.

Source: Fishes of the Maldives, Marine Research Centre (2003).