Port Jackson shark: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Port Jackson shark lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Group	Sharks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Heterodontiformes
Family	Heterodontidae

Where does the Port Jackson shark live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Port Jackson shark in 1 country or territory across Oceania.

Australia

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Port Jackson shark endangered?

The Port Jackson shark’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Port Jackson shark?

The Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Heterodontiformes and the family Heterodontidae, genus Heterodontus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Port Jackson shark

The Port Jackson shark (Heterodontus portusjacksoni) is a nocturnal, oviparous (egg laying) type of bullhead shark of the family Heterodontidae, found in the coastal region of southern Australia, including the waters off Port Jackson. It has a large, blunt head with prominent forehead ridges and dark brown harness-like markings on a lighter grey-brown body, and can grow up to 1.65 metres (5.5 ft) long. They are the largest in the genus Heterodontus.

The Port Jackson shark is a migratory species, traveling south in the summer and returning north to breed in the winter. It feeds on hard-shelled mollusks, crustaceans, sea urchins, and fish. Identification of this species is very easy due to the pattern of harness-like markings that cross the eyes, run along the back to the first dorsal fin, then cross the side of the body, in addition to the spine in front of both dorsal fins.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Port Jackson shark (revision 1380827871), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1364894 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).