Spotted Wobbegong Shark

The Spotted Wobbegong can be recognised by the skin flaps around the snout margin and the distinctive colour pattern of dark saddles and white rings on a yellow to greenish-brown background.

It is about 20 cm in length when born and reaches a maximum size of about 3 m.

Feeding occurs mainly at night and includes prey items such as fishes, crayfish, crabs and octopuses.

Spotted Wobbegongs live in shallow coastal waters down to about 100 m depth. They often lie on sand or rocky reef bottoms and are frequently seen by divers.

This species occurs along the southern coastline of Australia from southern Queensland to south-western Western Australia. It is possibly endemic to Australia. Records from Japan and the South China Sea are probably errors.

Spotted Wobbegong - Orectolobus maculatus from Thierry Rakotoarivelo on Vimeo.