DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
North Australian wobbegong
Orectolobus wardi
- Usual depth6–82 m
- Water temperature26–29 °C
- Best monthsMarch, May, and August
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Guy Skillen / Atlas of Living Australia, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The northern wobbegong is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, found in the western Pacific Ocean around Australia, between latitudes 9° S to 26° S. It reaches a length of 63 cm.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Northern 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: 2 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 6 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 8 records
- June: 5 records
- July: 4 records
- August: 10 records
- September: 6 records
- October: 5 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 2 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 6–82 m · Deepest record: 82 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–29 °C
Photos
(c) Guy Skillen / Atlas of Living Australia, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- North Australian wobbegong, Northern wobbegong, northern wobbegong, Wards Wobbegong
Names in 4 more languages
- German
- Nördlicher Teppichhai
- Spanish
- tapicero zapatilla, Wobbegong del norte de Australia
- French
- requin-tapis savetier
- Japanese
- マルヒゲオオセ
Other scientific names: Sutorectus wardi
Similar species
Carpet sharkOrectolobus maculatus
Banded Carpet SharkOrectolobus halei
Banded wobbegongOrectolobus ornatus
Floral Banded WobbegongOrectolobus floridus
Western WobbegongOrectolobus hutchinsi
False Cobbler WobbegongOrectolobus leptolineatus
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).
- 43 open-data records from 1928 to 2003.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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