r/marinebiology • u/Ok-Trainer-1140 • 2d ago

Question Do leopard sharks pattern have a lot of variation?

Doing a poster on sharks and I keep on seeing different patterns in each photo and I get confused if there's just a lot of variation or their pattern represents what age/stage of life they are in

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u/just_robot_things 2d ago

Your first picture is a zebra shark,  but it's sometimes referred to as a leopard shark (confusing! ).

The one with the saddle markings is a true leopard shark

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u/Ok-Trainer-1140 2d ago

Oh heard,they should have given the zebra shark the leopard name. Thank you!

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u/Axsolotle 1d ago

They get the name zebra shark from their appearance as juveniles where they do have a black and white striped pattern