Orectolobus_halei

Gulf wobbegong

Gulf wobbegong

Species of shark

The Gulf wobbegong or banded wobbegong (Orectolobus halei) is a species of carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, found in southern Australia between Southport, Queensland and Norwegian Bay, Western Australia.[2]

Quick Facts Conservation status, Scientific classification ...

Orectolobus halei is very similar to the ornate wobbegong, O. ornatus, of which it was treated as a synonym until 2006.[3] Despite this, genetic evidence suggests that O. halei is more closely related to the largely sympatric spotted wobbegong, O. maculatus, than either are to the generally more northern O. ornatus.[4]

Compared to O. ornatus, O. halei has more dermal lobes at the posterior preorbital group, a shorter pelvic fin to anal fin interspace, larger pectoral fins, a larger head and larger claspers when mature.[3] It also reaches a significantly larger size, growing to a maximum length of 2.9 metres (9.5 ft), while O. ornatus only reaches 1.17 metres (3.8 ft).[1]

Reproduction is ovoviviparous.

Etymology

The shark is named in honor of Herbert M. Hale (1895-1963) then the Director of the South Australian Museum.[5]

Conservation Status

As of October 31, 2021, O. halei has been categorized as Fully Recovered by the IUCN.[6]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Marsh, N. (2007/08). Wobbegong Update... Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine Sportdiving 125: 66-68.
  2. [2]
    Clark, M. (2006). Wobbegong sharks redescribed. Archived 2007-02-15 at the Wayback Machine Practical Fishkeeping
  3. [3]
    Huveneers, C. (2006). Redescription of two species of wobbegongs (Chondrichthyes: Orectolobidae) with elevation of Orectolobus halei Whitley 1940 to species level. Zootaxa 1284: 29-51.
  4. [4]
    Corrigan, S., C. Huveneers, T. S. Schwartz, R. G. Harcourt, and L. B. Beheregaray (2008). Genetic and reproductive evidence for two species of ornate wobbegong shark Orectolobus spp. on the Australian east coast. Journal of Fish Biology 73: 1662–1675.
  5. [5]
    Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 September 2018). "Order ORECTOLOBIFORMES (Carpet Sharks)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  6. [6]
    Huveneers, C. (2021). "Orectolobus halei (Green Status assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T161709A16170920213. Retrieved 15 January 2022.


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