The Japanese wobbegong (''Orectolobus japonicus'') is a

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 o ...

in the

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

Orectolobidae of the

wobbegong The wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and I ...

family, found in the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

from

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Viet Nam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, between latitudes 43 and 6°N. It reaches a length of 1 m. Japanese wobbegong sharks typically remain motionless during the daytime, and are not active hunters. They use camouflage and their electroreceptor pores on their dorsal area to help them sense prey nearby.

References

* * Theiss, S. M., Collin, S. P. & Hart, N. S. Morphology and distribution of the ampullary electroreceptors in wobbegong sharks: implications for feeding behaviour. ''Mar Biol'' 158, 723–735 (2011). {{Taxonbar, from=Q31794

Japanese wobbegong The Japanese wobbegong (''Orectolobus japonicus'') is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae of the wobbegong family, found in the tropical western Pacific Ocean from Japan and Korea to Viet Nam and the Philippines, between latitudes 43 and ...

Fish of Japan Marine fauna of East Asia Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan

See also

References