Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Orectolobiformes (Carpet sharks) >
Orectolobidae (Carpet or nurse sharks)
Etymology: Orectolobus: orektos (Gr.), stretched out; lobus (L.), from lobos (Gr.), rounded projection or protuberance, referring to long nasal barbels of Squalus barbatus (=O. maculatus) (See ETYFish); wardi: In honor of Australian actor, musician and naturalist Charles Melbourne Ward (1903-1966), who collected holotype (See ETYFish).
Eponymy: Charles Melbourne Ward (1903–1966) was an actor, naturalist and marine collector. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Whitley.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; reef-associated; depth range 1 - 3 m (Ref. 43278). Tropical; 9°S - 26°S, 114°E - 154°E
Western Central Pacific: Australia.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 63.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 6871)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Dark rounded saddles with light outlining widely spaced by dusky areas and with a few dark spots; saddles on head and trunk forming conspicuous eyespots (Ref. 13577). Caudal fin with its upper lobe hardly elevated above the body axis, with a strong terminal lobe and subterminal notch but no ventral lobe (Ref. 13577).
Found on the continental shelf, commonly inshore (Ref. 247). Presumably feeds on bottom invertebrates and fishes, but diet still unrecorded (Ref. 13577, 43278). Probably ovoviviparous (Ref. 13577, 43278). Wobbegongs should be regarded as potentially dangerous because of their formidable teeth (Ref. 247, 13577).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Ovoviviparous, embryos feed solely on yolk (Ref. 50449).
Compagno, L.J.V., 1984. FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 1 - Hexanchiformes to Lamniformes. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(4/1):1-249. Rome, FAO. (Ref. 247)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.5 - 28.7, mean 28 °C (based on 253 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5012 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.0 ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec assumed to be <100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (45 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 23 [4, 93] mg/100g; Iron = 0.446 [0.106, 1.244] mg/100g; Protein = 19.7 [17.4, 21.9] %; Omega3 = 0.073 [0.030, 0.179] g/100g; Selenium = 14.6 [3.9, 44.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 67.4 [21.7, 190.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.967 [0.439, 2.052] mg/100g (wet weight);
