The Japanese swellshark is a small bottom-dwelling catshark. It lives off the coasts of Japan and China and can greatly inflate its body with water when threatened.
The Japanese swellshark differs from other sharks by its ability to inflate its body for protection. It helps maintain balance in the marine ecosystem as a bottom predator.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
ambush
bottom
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
days
live octopuses, squids
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
Captures food by straining water or substrate through specialized structures.
adult
Maturity
cephalopods
fish of small size
crabs
Handbag
live marine and freshwater shrimps
Egg case color
Fins count
About health
from 1.2 to 4.8 kilograms, 0.7 – 1.4 meters
marine coastal
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Upcoming birthdays
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Age (from birth to death)
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Draws prey or water into the mouth by creating negative pressure.
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
gulping
water is cool or warm, cold in winter, comfortable to swim in summer
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
Pets
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Indomalayan realm
whole swallow
{name} jubilee
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
olfaction
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
live crabs, shrimps, lobsters
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
all seas and oceans
Species lacks any fixed or lasting shelter structure.
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
Predator remains still and concealed before launching a sudden attack.
birth date
Palearctic realm
swimming
no permanent shelter
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
Marine world
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Temperate sea
Potential Habitat
suction
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
Body size
aquatic
{name} birthday
No results found
On the map
lunge
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
sq mm
yr
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
What do they eat?
Spots color
Where do they live?
Marine world
early young
world of Afrotropics
continental shelf
Duration
filter feeding
saline marine habitat
This is me
Gamers
How are they built?
marine
shallow near the shore, water rises and falls, crabs live here
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
coastal marine zone — shelf, neritic zone
My age?
wk
My size?
Asexual
swap
Southeast Asia and islands, always hot and humid
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Littoral Zone
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
shrimp
embryo
Length
kg
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap