walking shark

plural walking sharks

1. Any of various species of shark that move by ‘walking’ their fins across the sea bed, especially Hemiscyllium ocellatum (epaulette shark) or Hemiscyllium halmahera.

   One of the recent PR successes of the shark conservationists is the ‘walking shark’, which crawls along the sea bottom on its fins and has an appealing little face.

   2015, Theo Tait, ‘Don't wear yum-yum yellow’, London Review of Books, volume 34, number 15

   2 more examples

   Given the nickname the walking shark, it is about a metre long and stands up on its pectoral and pelvic fins to walk around on the seabed with a sinuous motion, rather like a lizard, hunting molluscs and crustaceans.

   2007, Alex Mustard, Reefs Revealed, page 125

   "This is the third walking shark species to be described from eastern Indonesia in the past six years, which highlights our tremendous shark and ray biodiversity," said Fahmi, a shark expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences.

   2013 August 30, Suzanne Goldenberg, “'Walking shark' discovered in Indonesia”, in The Guardian