Banded wobbegong

Orectolobus ornatus

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth2–103 m
Water temperature16–28 °C
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Patrick Connolly, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The ornate wobbegong 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.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ornate wobbegong”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 75 records
February: 65 records
March: 72 records
April: 56 records
May: 63 records
June: 67 records
July: 66 records
August: 65 records
September: 63 records
October: 64 records
November: 63 records
December: 69 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–103 m · Deepest record: 103 m

0–10 m: 2 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 16–28 °C

14–16 °C: 6 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 18 records
22–24 °C: 20 records
24–26 °C: 6 records
26–28 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) Christopher Mark, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Peter Crowcroft, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Emma Sophie, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) brendanboyd, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) amfstocker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Banded wobbegong, Carpet shark, Gulf wobbegong, Ornate wobbegong, Banded Carpet Shark, banded wobbegong, carpet shark, Dwarf ornate wobbegong, ornate wobbegong, Wobbegong

Names in 4 more languages

German: Bunter Wobbegong, Ornament-Teppichhai
Spanish: tapicero ornamentado
French: requin-tapis paste
Japanese: karakusa-ôse

Other scientific names: Crossorhinus ornatus, Orectolobus devisi

Similar species

Carpet shark
Orectolobus maculatus
Banded Carpet Shark
Orectolobus halei
Floral Banded Wobbegong
Orectolobus floridus
Western Wobbegong
Orectolobus hutchinsi
False Cobbler Wobbegong
Orectolobus leptolineatus
North Australian wobbegong
Orectolobus wardi

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
242 open-data records from 1944 to 2005.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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