Spotted Wobbegong Shark

Images taken at Shelly Beach, NSW, Australia

Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. The Spotted Wobbegong has a pattern of dark saddles, white o-shaped spots and white blotches. It has skin flaps around the snout margin and the distinctive colour pattern of dark saddles and white rings on a yellow to greenish-brown background. They can reach up to 3m in length

Spotted Wobbegongs live in shallow coastal waters often lying on sand or rocky reef bottoms. Shelly Beach, Manly, NSW, Australia has many often found under ledges or out in the open.

Spotted wobbegongs are thought to be endemic to Australia, occurring from the southern coastline of Australia from southern Queensland to south-western Western Australia. Wobbegong species range the waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean as far north as Japan.