Wobbegong
| Wobbegong Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| Spotted wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus, showing the camouflage pattern and skin flaps typical of wobbegongs | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: | Orectolobidae T. N. Gill, 1896 |
| Genera | |
Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the 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.
The word wobbegong is thought to come from an Australian Aboriginal language and means shaggy beard, referring to the growths around the mouth of the shark.