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 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, found in

southern Australia The term Southern Australia is generally considered to refer to the states and territories of Australia of New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia. The part of Western Australia south of lati ...

between

Southport, Queensland Southport is a coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. In the , Southport had a population of 31,908 people. It contains the Gold Coast central business district. Geography Sout ...

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 is t ...

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, ''O. ornatus'', of which it was treated as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

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 In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

spotted wobbegong, ''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 Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

anal 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 se ...

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 claspers 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.

Conservation Status

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

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

References

Gulf wobbegong Fish of Australia Marine fish of Southern Australia Taxa named by Gilbert Percy Whitley Gulf wobbegong {{Shark-stub

Etymology

Conservation Status

See also

References