The brownbanded bamboo shark is a small tropical shark with a slender body commonly found on inshore coral reefs and over sandy and muddy bottom habitats in depths up to 85 m. Young individuals are distinctly marked with dark transverse bands and scattered dark spots. The adults are light brown and lack any color pattern on the body. It is a generally solitary animal with small individuals hiding in crevices of the reefs, well camouflaged with their banding pattern. As a nocturnal feeder, this shark becomes more active at night when it excavates the sediments in search of prey. They feed on benthic organisms like crustaceans, mollusks and small fish.

This species is oviparous, releasing egg cases into the environment, which anchor to the bottom substrate with hair-like fibers.

This shark can survive up to 12 hours out of the water. It is important to commercial fisheries.

Conservation status