Venom Wiki
Cartoon of Port Jackson shark
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Port Jackson shark

Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Venomous fish๐ŸŒต Venomous spines
Danger to people: MildLike a bee sting or less. Basically harmless to people.

Port Jackson shark belongs to the group: Venomous fish. It lives in: The oceans.2

Lives in
The oceans2
Length
1.2 m (3.9 ft)2
typical adult size
Top speed
about 22 km/h (14 mph)
Swimming, rough guess

Venom power

Venomous spines

Sharp spines carry the venom. Stepping on it or grabbing it hurts.

How dangerous is it to people?

Danger to people: MildLike a bee sting or less. Basically harmless to people.

๐Ÿš‘ If it bites or stings

  • Put the wound in hot water, as hot as the person can stand without burning (test it with your own hand), for 30 to 90 minutes. Get medical help, especially for stonefish and stingrays.

Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics

โ›‘๏ธ Stay safe

  • Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
  • Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
  • If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.

It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe

How big is it?

How long is it?

Port Jackson shark about 1.2 m long (3.9 ft)A house cat about 50 cm (1.6 ft)A dog about 1 m (3.3 ft)A grown-up's bike about 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
as long as 2.5 house cats nose to tailas long as 7 bananas end to endcould swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 8.2 seconds

How big is Port Jackson shark compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

For venom experts

Scientific name
Heterodontus portusjacksoni
Group
Venomous fish
Family
Heterodontidae1
Order
Heterodontiformes
Continents
The oceans
Danger to people
1 / 5: Mild2

Where the facts come from

  1. Heterodontus portusjacksoni (iNaturalist): names and classification.
  2. Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Venomous fish

Also lives in: The oceans

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