Feeding and diet

Dietary items include sea urchins, molluscs, crustaceans and fishes. Black sea urchins, Centrostephanus rodgersi are often eaten.

Port Jackson Sharks forage for food at night when their prey are most active. They often use caves and rocky outcrops as protection during the day.

When most people think of shark teeth, they think of large, sharp teeth like those in the film 'Jaws'. Not all sharks have teeth like these. The teeth of the Port Jackson Shark are very different. They are not serrated, and the front teeth have a very different shape to those found at the back of the jaws, hence the genus name Heterodontus (from the Greek heteros meaning 'different' and dont 'meaning' tooth The anterior teeth are small and pointed whereas the posterior teeth are broad and flat. The teeth function to hold and break, then crush and grind the shells of molluscs and echinoderms.

Juvenile Port Jackson Sharks have more pointed teeth and feed on a higher proportion of soft-bodied prey than adults. They can feed by sucking in water and sand from the bottom, blowing the sand out of the gill slits, and retaining the food which is swallowed.

Other behaviours and adaptations

Port Jackson Sharks have the ability to eat and breathe at the same time. This ability is unusual for sharks, many of which need to swim with the mouth open to force water over the gills. The Port Jackson Shark can pump water into the first enlarged gill slit and out through the other four gill slits. By pumping water across the gills, the shark does not need to move to 'breathe'. It can lie on the bottom for long periods of time, a behaviour that is observed at breeding time.

Life history cycle

When they hatch, juvenile Port Jackson Sharks, called pups, are about 25 cm long.

According to Rogers (2000), "Tagging studies showed the eastern sharks migrate large distances each year (600-800 kilometres) between their feeding grounds in Bass Strait and reproductive aggregations along the New South Wales coast".

View more on the 'Adopt a Shark' webpage.