Ornate wobbegong
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| iOrnate wobbegong | ||||||||||||||||
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| Orectolobus ornatus (De Vis, 1883) |
The ornate wobbegong, Orectolobus ornatus, is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, found in the western Pacific Ocean around eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, between latitudes 1° N to 40° S. It reaches a length of 2.9 m.
The ornate wobbegong's caudal fin has its upper lobe hardly elevated above the body axis, with a strong terminal lobe and subterminal notch but no ventral lobe. It is a common bottom shark of inshore continental waters, on algal-covered rocky areas and coral reefs. It is nocturnal, resting on the bottom during the day and prowling on its reef habitat at night, where it is presumably feeding on bottom invertebrates and fishes but its diet is unrecorded. It attacks waders and fishers in tide pools. Its skin is very tough, attractively patterned and utilized for leather.
Reproduction is ovoviviparous.
Its back has light areas between dark saddles marked with dark, light-centered blotches and spots, not reticulated lines.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- "Orectolobus ornatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. may 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
