Orectolobus

Orectolobus
Spotted wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Orectolobiformes
Family:	Orectolobidae
Genus:	Orectolobus Bonaparte, 1834
Type species
Squalus maculatus Bonnaterre, 1788
Species
10, see text

Orectolobus /ɒrɛkˈtɒləbəs/ is a genus of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are commonly known as wobbegongs, although this name also applies to the other members of the family.^[1] 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, O. japonicus) occurs as far north as Japan.

They have a mottled or spotted cryptic pattern, and have elongated dermal lobes in the region near the mouth. Most have a maximum length of 1.25 m (4.1 ft) or less, but two species, O. halei and O. maculatus, reach about 3 m (9.8 ft) (earlier reports of similar-sized O. ornatus is due to confusion with O. halei). These sluggish ambush predators are typically seen resting on the seafloor, and at least some species are nocturnal. While usually harmless to humans, they have been known to bite, but generally only if stepped on, approached too closely, or provoked.