Beany

Say hello to the leopard shark, a beautiful and slender houndshark found along the Pacific coast of North America, stretching from Oregon all the way down to Mexico! These striking sharks are famous for the bold, dark "saddles" and large spots running across their silver or bronze-gray bodies. They love to frequent shallow, muddy bays, estuaries, and cool kelp forests where they can stay just a foot or two above the seafloor. Often traveling in large, nomadic schools, they follow the rising tides onto intertidal flats to forage for tasty treats like crabs, clams, and fish eggs. Because they lack a swim bladder to keep them buoyant, they use their enormous, oil-filled livers to help balance their weight while resting on the sand.

Meet the incredibly unique zebra shark, a fascinating species found roaming the coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa all the way to Australia! True to its name, this nocturnal shark starts life covered in striking black-and-white stripes that look just like a zebra's coat. As they grow into adults, those stripes completely transform into a gorgeous pattern of dark spots against a sandy-gold background. During the day, they love to lounge lazily on the ocean floor, propping themselves up on their pectoral fins to take comfortable catnaps. At night, they wake up to hunt, using their flexible bodies to wiggle into narrow reef crevices in search of snails, crabs, and small fish.

This is the pyjama shark, a stylish little catshark found exclusively in the kelp forests of South Africa! True to its name, this nocturnal beauty sports seven dark, parallel stripes that make it look like it's ready for a permanent sleepover. While they spend their days sleeping in cozy groups hidden inside rocky caves, they turn into active predators at night, hunting for crabs and octopuses. When threatened, they protect themselves by curling into a tight doughnut shape to cover their heads. They even lay unique, rectangular egg cases called mermaid’s purses that anchor directly to the seaweed.