However, a new study analyzing the epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) of Australia and New Guinea finds that this species shows no noticeable spike in metabolic rate during reproduction. This is good news for both the epaulette shark and the coral reef system, which relies on the species to keep the underwater habitat healthy. The epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum), which lives off the coast of northern Australia and New Guinea, is a strange creature. But a new study, published in the journal Biology Open , makes an even more puzzling discovery about this fascinating shallow-sea creature. To get more data on the energy requirements for shark reproduction, Rummer and her team recorded metabolic and physiological changes in five epaulette sharks during oviparous (egg-laying) reproduction by tracking oxygen uptake and measuring reproductive hormones.