Wobbegong or so called 'Carpet Sharks' is a species from the family Orectolobidae. They live in the sea floor of tropical waters and well camouflaged with a pattern which resembles the sea floor and looks like a carpet. The word wobbegong is believed to come from an Australian Aboriginal language, meaning "shaggy beard", referring to the growths around the mouth of the shark of the western Pacific.
There are 12 species total in this family. They found at western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species (the Japanese wobbegong, Orectolobus japonicus) occurs as far north as Japan.
Genus Eucrossorhinus Regan, 1908
Eucrossorhinus dasypogon (Bleeker, 1867) (Tasselled wobbegong)
Genus Orectolobus Bonaparte, 1834
Orectolobus floridus Last & Chidlow, 2008 (Floral banded wobbegong)
Orectolobus halei Whitley, 1940.[6] (Gulf wobbegong or banded wobbegong)
Orectolobus hutchinsi Last, Chidlow & Compagno, 2006.[7] (Western wobbegong)
Orectolobus japonicus Regan, 1906 (Japanese wobbegong)
Orectolobus leptolineatus Last, Pogonoski & W. T. White, 2010 (Indonesian wobbegong)
Orectolobus maculatus (Bonnaterre, 1788) (Spotted wobbegong)
Orectolobus ornatus (De Vis, 1883) (Ornate wobbegong)
Orectolobus parvimaculatus Last & Chidlow, 2008 (Dwarf spotted wobbegong)
Orectolobus reticulatus Last, Pogonoski & W. T. White, 2008 (Network wobbegong)
Orectolobus wardi Whitley, 1939 (Northern wobbegong)
Genus Sutorectus Whitley, 1939
Sutorectus tentaculatus (W. K. H. Peters, 1864) (Cobbler wobbegong)
Wobbegongs are generally not dangerous to humans unless they are provoked. They have bitten people who accidentally step on them in shallow water; they may also bite scuba divers or snorkelers who poke or touch them, or who block their escape route. Wobbegongs are very flexible and can easily bite a hand that is holding on to their tail. They have many small but sharp teeth and their bite can be severe, even through a wetsuit; having once bitten, they have been known to hang on and can be very difficult to remove.
Although wobbegongs do not eat humans, humans frequently eat wobbegongs; the flesh of a wobbegong or other shark is called flake and it is often used in fish and chips in Australia. Wobbegong skin is also used to make leather.
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| Eucrossorhinus dasypogon (Tasselled wobbegong) |
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| Orectolobus japonicus (Japanese wobbegong) |
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| Orectolobus maculatus (Spotted wobbegong) |
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| Orectolobus ornatus (Ornate wobbegong) |
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wobbegong (edited)
