Painted Hornshark, Heterodontus marshallae (White, Mollen, O’Neill, Yang & Naylor 2023)

Other Names: Barred Bull-head Shark, Barred Shark, Bullhead Shark, Striped Bullhead Shark, Striped Cat Shark, Zebra Bullhead Shark, Zebra Horn Shark, Zebra Hornshark, Zebra Port Jackson Shark

Holotype of the Painted Hornshark, Heterodontus marshallae, WAM P.35408-007, adolescent male, 541 mm TL, from west of Exmouth Peninsula, Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO / Fig. 1, in White et al. (2023) Diversity 15(7): 849. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

A small pale greyish-brown hornshark with 22 dark brown bars and saddles, a dark brown blotch on the snout tip, a semicircular dark bar across the snout (usually divided for most of its length), and the anal fin well separated from the caudal fin. The species lacks a dark bar running from the rear gills onto the pectoral fin.
In Australia, this species was previously known as Heterodontus zebra (a species that occurs elsewhere in the Western Pacific).

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2023, Heterodontus marshallae in Fishes of Australia, accessed 06 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1983

Quick Facts

CAAB Code:37007002

Depth:125-229 m

Habitat:Outer continental shelf

Max Size:60 cm SL

Species Image Gallery

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Distribution	Endemic to northwestern Australia from the Northwest Shelf, west of Exmouth Plateau, Western Australia, to north of Bathurst Island, Arafura Sea, Northern Territory. Inhabits the outer continental shelf, mostly at depths of 150 to 200 m.
Features	Vertebrae 106-112 (total), precaudal centra 70-76 (precaudal), 33-37 (monospondylous), 35-42 (diplospondylous trunk), 35-39 (diplospondylous caudal). A small hornshark species with the following combination of characters: anal fin well separated from caudal fin (anal-caudal space 11.0-13.5% TL); ventral lobe of caudal fin prominent (lower postventral margin 4.7-6.1% TL); dorsal spines long (exposed first dorsal spine length 3.9-4.5% TL); dorsal fins taller in juveniles than adults; symphyseal and anterior teeth pointed, lateral teeth molariform with a longitudinal keel; 20–22 tooth files in upper jaw, 17–19 in lower jaw; egg case with narrow, curved, screw-like keels with 1.5 rotations from anterior to posterior margins.
Remarks	Heterosdontus marshallae was previously considered to be conspecific with H. zebra from elsewhere in the Western Pacific: Japan, Korean peninsula, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia (Sulawesi, Ambon).
Similar Species	Although similar to Heterodontus zebra, H. marshallae differs in several morphological characters, egg case morphology and coloration. Both have a pale background with 22 dark brown bands and saddles, they differ consistently in snout pattern (the snout of H. marshallae has a dark semicircular bar on the snout, usually bifurcated for most of its length vs. a pointed, triangular shaped dark marking in H. zebra). H. zebra also has a dark bar that originates below the posterior gill slits and extends onto the anterior pectoral fin, which is absent in H. marshallae.
Etymology	The species is named in honour of Dr. Lindsay Marshall, (www.stickfigurefish.com.au), a scientific illustrator and elasmobranch scientist who expertly painted all the sharks and rays of the world for the Chondrichthyan Tree of Life Project. The vernacular name proposed is painted hornshark, in allusion to not only the beautiful coloration of the species but also to its namesake, who has painted all the hornsharks in amazing detail.
Species Citation	Heterodontus marshallae White, Mollen, O’Neill, Yang & Naylor 2023, Diversity 15(7): West of Exmouth Peninsula, Ningaloo Marine Park (Commonwealth waters), Western Australia, 22°22.946′ S, 113°40.308′ E, 210–212 m depth.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2023
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Painted Hornshark, Heterodontus marshallae (White, Mollen, O’Neill, Yang & Naylor 2023)