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]
| Gulf wobbegong | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Subdivision: | Selachimorpha |
| Order: | Orectolobiformes |
| Family: | Orectolobidae |
| Genus: | Orectolobus |
| Species: | O. halei
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| Binomial name | |
| Orectolobus halei Whitley, 1940
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| Range of the banded wobbegong (also off Flinders Island)[1] | |
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 edit
The shark is named in honor of Herbert M. Hale (1895-1963) then the Director of the South Australian Museum.[5]
Conservation Status edit
As of October 31, 2021, O. halei has been categorized as Fully Recovered by the IUCN.[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Marsh, N. (2007/08). Wobbegong Update... Archived 2011-07-23 at the Wayback Machine Sportdiving 125: 66-68.
- ^ Clark, M. (2006). Wobbegong sharks redescribed. Archived 2007-02-15 at the Wayback Machine Practical Fishkeeping
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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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