Ornate wobbegong
| Ornate wobbegong | |
|---|---|
| Ornate wobbegong in the Great Barrier Reef | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Division: | Selachii |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: | Orectolobidae |
| Genus: | Orectolobus |
| Species: | O. ornatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Orectolobus ornatus (De Vis, 1883) | |
| Confirmed range of the ornate wobbegong (see text) | |
The ornate wobbegong (Orectolobus ornatus) is a species of carpet shark that lives in Australia and possibly other countries in the Western Pacific Ocean. It is coloured golden brown, yellow-green and blueish-grey, and it grows to maximum 120 centimetres (3.9 ft). Described by Charles Walter De Vis in 1883, it is similar in appearance to other Australian wobbegongs and has previously been classified as the same species as the Gulf wobbegong. It is a nocturnal species, hunting at night, and it can bite humans when disturbed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as a least-concern species.