The evolutionary secrets of leopard sharks revealed for the first time
Vietnam.vn EN
23/09/2025 06:10:00
Scientists have captured the first ever footage of leopard sharks mating in the waters off New Caledonia.
Marine biologist Dr Hugo Lassauce of the University of the Sunshine Coast captured footage of three leopard sharks (one female and two males) mating in the waters of Noumea, off the coast of New Caledonia on September 22. Photo: Hugo Lassauce.
According to Dr. Lassauce, the whole thing took 110 seconds. The first male leopard shark mated for 63 seconds, and the second finished after 47 seconds. After mating, they swam away one after the other. Photo: Hugo Lassauce.
This is the first time that leopard shark breeding has been directly observed in the wild. Dr Lassauce said his team spent several weeks at the site recording the sharks' behaviour before capturing the unexpected moment of mating between three individual leopard sharks. Photo: Hugo Lassauce.
"I saw two male sharks grabbing the female shark's fins and I knew their mating behavior was about to happen," said Dr. Lassauce. Photo: aol.co.uk.
Dr Lassauce said his research was part of a global project run by the organisation ReShark, which aims to help restore leopard shark populations in Southeast Asia – where the species is on the brink of extinction. Photo: Brian Gratwicke/flickr.
Dr. Lassauce's colleague, Dr. Christine Dudgeon, a marine ecologist and evolutionary biologist, said the leopard shark has become endangered in the Asia
-Pacific region. Photo: animals.sandiegozoo.org.
“Outside of Australia – where leopard sharks thrive – the species is considered endangered mainly due to overfishing,” said Dr Dudgeon. Photo: animals.sandiegozoo.org.
Dr Dudgeon added that recent footage of leopard sharks mating off the coast of New Caledonia suggests the area could be an important breeding ground for the species. Photo: sdzwildlifeexplorers.org.
From here, authorities and experts will develop appropriate management and conservation strategies to protect the leopard shark, whose numbers are declining rapidly due to overexploitation and habitat degradation. Photo: sdzwildlifeexplorers.org.
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