At a glance

Length

Commonly 2–2.5 m; up to about 3 m

Depth

Sandy bottoms near the reef, to about 60 m

Diet

Crabs, shrimp, molluscs and small fish dug from the sand

Status

Critically Endangered

How to recognise it

A shark’s body and tail on a flattened, wedge-shaped head and disc. Rows of white spots along the back, two tall dorsal fins set well back, and a dark blotch above each pectoral fin.

Where we meet them

Over the sand flats beside the reef, often where the stingrays gather. They rest on the bottom and lift off slowly when approached.

Best timeYear-round.

Behaviour

A bottom-dweller that cruises just above the sand with slow beats of its wing-like pectoral fins, then settles and waits. Unlike a stingray it swims with its tail, like a shark.

Diving with them

Come in low and slow from the side, and stop short. Give it room and it will settle again a few metres on; chase it and it is gone.

Status & protection

Critically Endangered. Wedgefish fins are among the most valuable in the fin trade, and the species has collapsed across much of its range. The Maldives banned all shark fishing in 2010.