Scientists Intrigued by Sharks That Can Walk on Land for Two Hours

There are sharks that can walk on land, so don't worry.

This is not a creature like "Sharknado" or "Snakes on a Plane" This is real life evolution happening before our very eyes, and as researchers out of Australia and Florida discovered in a new study, these cute little guys are very fascinating.

The epaulette shark is not a bipedal human, or even a cat, dog, or other mammal. Instead, they push up on their fins to raise their bodies and then push them against the flat surface. It's an awkward process, but it's an unmistakable sign of the tiny creatures outside of water, which is fascinating for many reasons, not the least being that our own distant ancestors once made the same transition.

This isn't the first time we've heard of the "walking" epaulette sharks, which were the most recently-evolved shark species.

According to a press release from Florida Atlantic University, the low-oxygen nature of the epaulette shark's Great Barrier Reef home is the reason it can go up to two hours out of water.

The lil sharkies' ability to get from one place to another was the most important of the FAU and Aussie researchers' findings.

The researchers studied baby epaulettes at various stages of development and found that even as the babies grew into "juveniles", they were still able to swim in water and walk on land. Babies have bulging bellies because they lose a nutrition sac when they're young enough to eat on their own, according to the researchers.

It may help uncover the secrets of how small animals deal with dangers like climate change, according to the senior author of the paper.

She said in the press release that climate change is an important topic for future studies.

If these guys are going to be part of our future, we should start learning about them now.

First, study sharks on the move in early life stages.

NASA says that an underwater shark volcano has irreparably damaged.