Orectolobus Ornatus/(Banded) / Maculatus (Spotted)

Wobbegongs or Carpet Sharks are very common along the coast of NSW and are usually the first shark a diver encounters. The first time I ever saw a Wobbegong, I was still doing my basic scuba training. It was the forth dive of my life. I was down on the wreck of the Scottish Prince on the Gold Coast of Queensland. I was training with a buddy (Penny) and an instructor. We were already a bit stunned by the number of fish when the instructor called us to him and was pointing to a part of the wreck. When I got there I got the shock of my life! Here within about 18″ of my face were what I considered huge animals. There were a whole bunch of them lying on top of each other, the largest about five feet. It was a magical experience for me. Up to that moment I could take scuba diving or not. I was not that committed. When I saw those sharks I knew there was a whole amazing world to explore. When I surfaced I was so excited that I had to go for a walk just to calm down. That day we saw about 10 Wobbegongs.

My next encounter was Byron Bay at the top of NSW. If you want to see Wobbegongs, then this is the place to go. On a good day you can see 12 -15 without really trying. They like to lie along the sand gullies especially Hugo’s Trench. Some of them can get really big too! Believe it or not they grow to 10 feet (290cm) and as they grow longer they also grow wider.

If you haven’t seen a Wobbegong, they are extremely well camouflaged. I’ve seen many divers kick them, stand on them or run into them. That is really the biggest danger. It must always be remembered that these are big fish with teeth that are not really scared of divers. I’m not saying they are a dangerous species of shark.. I’m just pointing out that if you provoke one it might bite you. If they do bite you they have a tendency to hold on.

In fact Ron Taylor, the famous shark photographer has only ever been bitten by one shark and that was a Wobbegong that other divers disturbed and it panicked a bit and ended up giving poor Ron a bite. This is from a man who once fell in the water during a Great White Shark feeding frenzy!

When I was diving with Penny, at Byron Bay she had just got long fins and boots. She was using small, full foot snorkling fins previously. Anyway she couldn’t get used to how long they were. While we were diving I could see her continuously kicking a Wobbegong below her without knowing it. I was too far away to do anything. I quickly swam over her and grabbed her first stage and lifted her up. She had no idea what was going on. At the same time the shark got up and swam away. Penny never saw the shark and didn’t know anything until she was told later.

I photographed the Wobbegong sticking out under a piece of plate coral waiting for a meal to come to him at Split Solitary Island at Coffs Harbour NSW. He really appealed to me as he seemed to be smiling.

I have seen well over 200 Wobbegongs diving and I’ve never had a problem with any of them. I’ve even had them swimming towards me after someone else has upset them. If you don’t touch them, stand on them or provoke them, they are not going to hurt you. Whatever you do, don’t try to play the hero and grab one by the tail as they are quite capable of turning completely around and grabbing you. Their teeth are in rows and quite sharp. They are curved inward to prevent prey from escaping. They also tend to lock their jaw when they clamp down and you won’t be able to dislodge the shark.

They are mainly nocturnal and will only eat during the day if something almost falls into their mouth. When I was up in Byron a while ago, one of the instructors tried to wave a large school of Bullseyes out of the way so some new students could see the Wobbegong. Unfortunately the fish panicked and the shark gulped a few down. The divers were pretty excited about having seen the shark feeding!

When I was diving at South Solitary Island just out of Coffs Harbour, Gary the divemaster with Jetty Dive found a tiny Wobbegong Shark that must have been newly born as they are supposed to be 20cm when born. It was one of those amazing things that you don’t often see.

Ornate Wobbegong
Orectolobus ornatus (De Vis, 1883)

The Ornate Wobbegong can be recognised by its body shape and colouration. It has a broad, flattened head with skin flaps around the snout margin. The eyes are small and oval (see bottom image). This species has two dorsal fins which are positioned posteriorly on the body. The caudal fin has a long upper lobe. The anal fin is positioned so far posteriorly, it almost looks like a lower caudal fin lobe (more details).

This species is usually golden-brown with broad dark areas, and blueish-grey spots above. It is pale below. The margins of the fins often have dark spots. This can be seen on the leading edge of the pectoral fin in the upper image.

It is recorded from all Australian coasts and from Papua New Guinea. The similar Spotted Wobbegong O.maculatus is most commonly found in temperate Australian coastal waters from southern Queensland to southwestern Western Australia. It can be distinguished from the Ornate Wobbegong by its colour pattern which consists of broad dark saddles and distinct circles formed by groupings of small white dots.

The Ornate Wobbegong is usually seen in clear water on inshore reefs and offshore islands to depths of at least 50m. Divers most often see the Ornate Wobbegong lying on the bottom during daylight hours. It is generally not aggressive, however it should be considered as potentially dangerous due to its large size (up to 3m in length) and sharp teeth.

Spotted Wobbegongs live in shallow coastal waters down to about 100 m. They often lie on sand or rocky reef bottoms and are frequently seen by divers. They are easily recognised by the flaps of skin (like whiskers or tassles on a rug) around the snout and the distinctive colour pattern of dark saddles and white rings on a yellow to greenish-brown background. Wobbegongs are also known as carpet sharks because of their tassled, rug-like appearance and bottom-dwelling habits.

Spotted Wobbegongs spend much of their time during the day resting on the seabed, often hidden among boulders or camouflaged against the sand. They are more active at night when they hunt large prey such as fishes, crayfish, crabs and octopuses.

Like any large shark, wobbegongs should not be provoked as they will bite in self-defence.

Further information, Australian Museum Fish Site: www.amonline.net.au/fishes/students/focus/gwobbe.htm
Spotted Wobbegong
Orectolobus maculatus (Bonnaterre, 1788)

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.

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

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

Spotted Wobbegongs live in shallow coastal waters down to about 100m. 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 southwestern Western Australia. It is possibly endemic to (only found in) Australia. Records from Japan and the South China Sea are probably errors.

The genus name Orectolobus comes from the Greek words orectos, meaning stretched out, and lobos meaning a rounded projection or protuberance. The genus name most likely refers to the barbels on the head. The species name maculatus comes from the Latin word macula which means spot, and refers to the shark’s spotted colouration. The common name is an Australian aboriginal word.

Another species of Orectolobus recorded from Australian waters is the Ornate Wobbegong Orectolobus ornatus.

Further reading:

Brown, R.W. 1956. Composition of Scientific Words. R. W. Brown. Pp. 882.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513, Pl. 1-84.
Stevens, J.D. in Gomon, M.F, J.C.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia’s South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
Whitley, G.P. 1940. The fishes of Australia. Part I. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Royal Zoological Society N.S.W., Australian Zoological Handbook 1-280.