The Pyjama Shark

📍 Cape Town

The pyjama shark (Poroderma africanum) is a small, harmless catshark known for its distinctive dark longitudinal stripes and unique "death roll" hunting maneuver. It is endemic to the coastal waters of South Africa. 

Key Facts

• Distinctive Appearance: The shark is named for its bold, thick, dark stripes running from snout to tail tip, which resemble a set of striped pajamas or a "onesie".
• Nocturnal Hunter: Pyjama sharks are primarily active at night, spending their days resting and hiding in rocky crevices, caves, or among kelp beds.
• Unique Hunting Tactic: Instead of using their teeth to cut through large prey, they employ a spinning manoeuvre similar to a crocodile's "death roll" to stun, dislodge, and dismember prey, especially slippery items like octopuses. Their ability to hunt octopuses was famously featured in the documentary My Octopus Teacher.
• Specialised Ambush: They are opportunistic predators. During the chokka squid spawning season, they will gather in droves and hide among the egg beds during the day, using their stripes for camouflage to ambush female squid as they lay their eggs.
• Defence Mechanism: When threatened, the pyjama shark will curl into a circle, using its tail to cover its head for protection, a behaviour also seen in other catsharks.
• Oviparous Reproduction: Females lay eggs in tough, rectangular, dark brown capsules known as "mermaid's purses". These egg cases have long, twisted tendrils that anchor them to underwater structures like kelp or rocks, where the pups develop for over five months before hatching.
• Harmless to Humans: This shy, slow-swimming species poses no danger to humans and is often sought out by divers and snorkelers for its unique appearance.
• Endemic to South Africa: They are found exclusively in the temperate coastal waters of South Africa, primarily in the Western Cape region.