The Gulf wobbegong or banded wobbegong (''Orectolobus halei'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

carpet shark Carpet sharks are sharks classified in the order Orectolobiformes . Sometimes the common name "carpet shark" (named so because many species resemble ornately patterned carpets) is used interchangeably with "wobbegong", which is the common name of ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Orectolobidae, found in southern Australia between Southport, Queensland and

Norwegian Bay Norwegian Bay (french: Baie Norvégienne) is an Arctic Ocean waterway in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. Amund Ringnes Island is to the northwest (separated by the Hendriksen Strait from Cornwall Island), and Axel Heiberg Island i ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

.Clark, M. (2006).
Wobbegong sharks redescribed.
'' Practical Fishkeeping ''Orectolobus halei'' is very similar to the

ornate wobbegong The ornate wobbegong (''Orectolobus ornatus'') is a species of carpet shark that lives in Australia and possibly other countries in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is coloured golden brown, yellow-green and blueish-grey, and it grows to maximum . ...

, ''O. ornatus'', of which it was treated as a synonym until 2006.Huveneers, C. (2006). ''Redescription of two species of wobbegongs (Chondrichthyes: Orectolobidae) with elevation of Orectolobus halei Whitley 1940 to species level.'' Zootaxa 1284: 29-51. Despite this, genetic evidence suggests that ''O. halei'' is more closely related to the largely sympatric

spotted wobbegong The spotted wobbegong (''Orectolobus maculatus'') is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, endemic to Australia. It is a large, robust species, typically reaching in length. Coloured green, yellow, or brown, it has distinctive O-shaped ...

, ''O. maculatus'', than either are to the generally more northern ''O. ornatus''.Corrigan, S., C. Huveneers, T. S. Schwartz, R. G. Harcourt, and L. B. Beheregaray (2008). ''Genetic and reproductive evidence for two species of ornate wobbegong shark Orectolobus spp. on the Australian east coast.'' Journal of Fish Biology 73: 1662–1675. Compared to ''O. ornatus'', ''O. halei'' has more dermal lobes at the posterior preorbital group, a shorter pelvic fin to anal fin interspace, larger

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s, a larger head and larger

clasper In biology, a clasper is a male anatomical structure found in some groups of animals, used in mating. Male cartilaginous fish have claspers formed from the posterior portion of their pelvic fin which serve to channel semen into the female's c ...

s when mature. It also reaches a significantly larger size, growing to a maximum length of , while ''O. ornatus'' only reaches .Marsh, N. (2007/08).
Wobbegong Update...
'' Sportdiving 125: 66-68. Reproduction is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

Etymology

The shark is named in honor of Herbert M. Hale (1895-1963) then the Director of the

South Australian Museum The South Australian Museum is a natural history museum and research institution in Adelaide, South Australia, founded in 1856 and owned by the Government of South Australia. It occupies a complex of buildings on North Terrace in the cultu ...

Conservation Status

As of October 31, 2021, ''O. halei'' has been categorized as Fully Recovered by the IUCN.

References

Gulf wobbegong The Gulf wobbegong or banded wobbegong (''Orectolobus halei'') is a species of carpet shark in the family (biology), family Orectolobidae, found in southern Australia between Southport, Queensland and Norwegian Bay (Australia), Norwegian Bay, West ...

Fish of Australia Marine fish of Southern Australia Taxa named by Gilbert Percy Whitley

{{Shark-stub

Etymology

Conservation Status

See also

References