Spotted wobbegong
Orectolobus maculatus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
PROTECTED — look, don't shoot
A flattened carpet shark patterned in dark saddles and pale rings, with a fringe of fleshy lobes along the edge of its head and a brown triangle between the eyes. It lies still under ledges and on open sand all day, and should be left exactly where it is — it bites and does not let go.
how to recognise it
- large dark saddles along the back, with whitish RINGS all over the body — including inside the saddles
- a distinctive brown triangle between the eyes
- 6 to 10 long fleshy lobes along each side of the head
- yellowish to greenish-brown and very well camouflaged; it lies still on the bottom
- the banded carpetshark, which it is often confused with, has indistinct markings inside its saddles and fewer fleshy lobes
don’t confuse with
- Tiger shark — a tiger shark is a swimming shark with vertical bars and a blunt broad snout; a wobbegong lies on the bottom, is flattened, and has a fringe of fleshy lobes along its head
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-15. Our wording, their facts. Max size 170 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- reef
- size
- ~120 cm, to 170 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (170 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 54 at 1 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
NSW — No take
source
· verified 2026-10-01
no QLD rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.