Page 41 - Shark

mug ShOtS
Like a prisoner in mug
shots, this ornate
wobbegong looks
different from different
angles—from above
(top left) and from
the side (bottom
left). The wobbegong’s
disguise works just as
well from any direction.
Aboriginals of Australia
gave wobbegongs their Predators may not see a swell shark because it is well camouflaged. But if
wonderful name. attacked, it gulps down water, swelling up to jam itself into a crevice.

where’S the taSSeled wObbegOng?
Of the seven or so wobbegong species, this one
has the most branched lobes, or tassels,
on its head. Its beard extends around
the mouth and down its chin.
Ornate
Wobbegong

Barbel

a life On the Seabed
Wobbegongs spend much of
the day lurking on the seabed in
the shallows and even in rock pools.
They are flattened with their eyes and
spiracles on the tops of their heads, just
like angel sharks. All wobbegongs have an
anal fin, while angel sharks lack them. The
lobes around their mouths are outgrowths of
skin. Even the wobbegong’s barbels, or whiskers, Lobe
on its rounded snout look like fronds of seaweed.

39