The common name of this shark comes from the very large, white-margined black spot behind each pectoral fin, which are reminiscent of military epaulettes.

A small species usually under 1 m (3.3 ft) long, the epaulette shark has a slender body with a short head and broad, paddle-shaped paired fins.

Epaulette sharks have nocturnal habits and frequent shallow water on coral reefs or in tidal pools.

This shark has evolved to cope with the severe night time oxygen depletion (hypoxia) in isolated tidal pools by increasing the blood supply to its brain and selectively shutting down non-essential neural functions.

Epaulette sharks are oviparous, with females depositing pairs of egg capsules around every 14 days from August to December.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as of Least Concern, as outside of the small aquarium trade it is of little interest to fisheries.

The epaulette shark was originally described as Squalus ocellatus by the French naturalist Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre in the 1788 Tableau encyclopédique et méthodique des trois règnes de la nature.

The caudal fin has only an upper lobe, which contains a prominent ventral notch near the tip and is angled almost horizontally relative to the body.

Adult epaulette sharks are beige to brownish above with many widely spaced brown spots and subtle darker bands.

[3][6] As an adaptation for navigating its complex reef environment, the epaulette shark moves by seemingly walking, bending its body from side-to-side and pushing off of the substrate with its paddle-shaped pectoral and pelvic fins.

[8] The gait of the epaulette shark is convergently similar to those of tetrapods such as salamanders, suggesting that the movements needed for walking on land may predate, and facilitated the evolution of, the first terrestrial vertebrates.

[2] Sometimes they perch in the open on sandy flats or atop reefs facing into the current, a form of orientation known as rheotaxis that may improve respiration or predator awareness.

[15] At night, the shallow reef platforms inhabited by the epaulette shark often become isolated from the ocean by the receding tide.

The epaulette shark has evolved to cope with these hypoxic conditions, being able to survive for over three hours in 5% of the atmospheric O2 level without losing behavioral responsiveness.

Off Heron Island, over 90% of the epaulette shark's diet consists of polychaete worms and crabs, with juveniles taking mostly the former and adults mostly the latter.

[5] Mating in the epaulette shark takes place from July to December, though in captivity reproduction occurs continuously.

They are easily observed and handled by beachgoers as they move slowly whilst out of water, and show little fear of humans; the shark is often injured by these encounters.

Off New Guinea, the epaulette shark has been assessed as Near Threatened, as there it faces habitat degradation, destructive fishing practices, and over-exploitation by artisan fishers.

[26] The documentary shows an epaulette shark's ability to walk over land, and its hunting behaviours in the ebbing tide.