Spotted wobbegong  (Orectolobus maculatus)

Description

With its broad and flattened body, and cryptic colouration, the spotted wobbegong is perfectly adapted to a life on the seabed. It has yellowish-green or brown skin on its back, patterned with white ‘O’ shaped markings and dark blotches, and darker saddle-stripes. Fleshy projections (nasal barbels) used to taste and feel, hang down by the nostrils, and six to ten dermal lobes, or tassels of skin, hang below and in front of the eyes on each side of head (2) (3). Despite its unthreatening appearance, the spotted wobbegong is capable of inflicting powerful bites if provoked (2).

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