Sharks Codexery

Wobbegong

Carpet sharks with shaggy beards, camouflaged ambush predators.

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Wobbegong

via Wikipedia: Wobbegong · CC BY-SA 3.0

Wobbegongs are bottom-dwelling sharks that spend a lot of time flattened against the sea floor, which helps them blend in like a carpet.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. DivisionSelachii
  6. OrderOrectolobiformes
  7. FamilyOrectolobidae

Named by T. N. Gill, 1896

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Wobbegong (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Family
Orectolobidae
Number of living species
12
Primary habitat
Shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean

Facts from the source article.

Biology and ecology

Scientists have described the blood cells from several wobbegong species in published research.[2][3] Wobbegongs eat bottom dwellers such as lobsters, crabs, some fish, and even other sharks, including their own kind.[1] They are ambush predators, relying on their camouflage to surprise prey.[2] If a wobbegong isn't getting enough food, you can spot it by the visible wasting of the muscles along its back.[4]

Feeding them just twice a week works well for most wobbegongs.[4]

Human interactions

Some smaller species, such as the tasselled wobbegong and Ward's wobbegong, are sold in the aquarium trade because they are an appropriate size and are lethargic.[5] However, they consume tankmates, even quite large ones.[5] Surfers have also been bitten by wobbegongs.[6] Their bite can be nasty, even cutting through a wetsuit, and once they latch on they're famously hard to pry off.[6]

In Australia, people use wobbegong skin to make leather.[7]

Taxonomy and phylogeny

Wobbegongs are marine fish in the shark and ray group, called elasmobranchs.[8][9] Gill named the wobbegong family Orectolobidae in 1896.[8] There are 12 living species of wobbegong, in three genera.[10] Species include the tasselled wobbegong, floral banded wobbegong, Gulf wobbegong, western wobbegong, Japanese wobbegong, Indonesian wobbegong, spotted wobbegong, and ornate wobbegong.[10]

The three wobbegong groups are Eucrossorhinus, Orectolobus, and Sutorectus.[10]

References

  1. "Wobbegong", Marine Science Institute. The University of Texas at Austin.. facts only, no text reused. utmsi.utexas.edu
  2. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Old JM, "Morphology of the blood cells from three species of wobbegong sharks (Orectolobus species) on the East Coast of N. S. W.", Zoo Biology, 2006, p. 72–83 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Julie M. Old, "Morphology of the blood cells from three species of wobbegong sharks (Orectolobus species) on the east coast of New South Wales", Zoo Biology (2005), doi:10.1002/zoo.20079. OpenAlex metadata CC0; paper not read. doi.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael, "Sharks at Home", March 2004, p. 20–29 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Michael, "Sharks at Home", March 2004, p. 20–29; Michael, "Sharks at Home", March 2004, p. 20–29; Michael, "Sharks at Home", March 2004, p. 20–29 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Shark attack victim Kirra-Bella Olsson, 13, 'laughed' after ankle and calf were mauled by a wobbegong", The Daily Telegraph, 2014-10-18; Kuiter, "Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia", New Holland Publishers (Aust.) Pty Ltd, 1999, p. 12; "Shark sinks its teeth in for the long haul", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2004-02-12 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "An overview of world trade in sharks and other cartilaginous fishes", TRAFFIC International, 1 December 1996 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. World Register of Marine Species, Orectolobidae (AphiaID 148806). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  9. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Orectolobidae (taxon key 2200). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Wobbegong" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Huveneers, "Redescription of two species of wobbegongs (Chondrichthyes: Orectolobidae) with elevation of Orectolobus halei Whitley 1940 to species level", Zootaxa, 2006, p. 29–51; Last, Chidlow & Compagno, "A new wobbegong shark, Orectolobus hutchinsi n. sp. (Orectolobiformes: Orectolobidae) from southwestern Australia", Zootaxa, 2006, p. 35–48 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Wobbegong (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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