ONCE AND FOR ALL

THIS:

is NOT a leopard shark! it is a ZEBRA SHARK! but gee, it has spots, right? why yes it does, but the fact remains that this is a ZEBRA SHARK! technically a segostoma fasciatum. so why is it actually a zebra shark? because as a juvenile it has, that's right, STRIPES! thus:

see?

HERE is a LEOPARD shark:

otherwise known as triakis semifasciata.

the zebra shark (segostoma fasciatum) is a carpet shark where the leopard shark (triakis semifasciata) is a hound shark. they are DIFFERENT! that is why these generic names are stupid! the latin name tells you what it REALLY is.

take tylenol for instance. you could call a damn gas-x pill tylenol if you wanted to because the word tylenol doesn't mean anything. what tylenol actually is is acetaminophen.

so there you go.

i'd better never hear these 2 species mixed up again cuz it drives me fucking nuts.