The Tasseled Wobbegong - by Quillian

The tasseled wobbegong, also known as the carpet shark, is a very non-sharky looking shark. (But I am not getting into shark vs wobbegong shark because it will take up the rest of this article). They are referred to as a carpet shark because they like to hang out on the bottom near coral reefs. They also have flattened bodies and patterned skin, so they resemble a carpet. They are called tasseled wobbegong because of their brownish orange to yellow bodies which are decorated with light ringed dark spots making it look like a coral reef.  The tasseled part of the name refers to the beard-like skin flaps on its lower jaw.  Other cool features include rounded pectoral fins, a broad head and a habit of resting with the tail curved instead of straight.  Wobbegongs are solitary and nocturnal normally but they will feed at any time of the day. During the day they like to spend time in coral reefs where their camouflage is the best and their flattened bodies let them maneuver under narrow ledges. They rely heavily on camouflage while hunting. They will stay still and wait for small fish to go by its tasseled jaws. The caudal fin has a dark eye spot so when a large fish approaches the wobbegong tail strikes.  The tasseled wobbegongs eat pretty big fish, but for any large fish they have very long fang-like front teeth. Their diet is mainly schooling nocturnal fish. Mature tasseled wobbegongs can get to 1.8m in length. Though breeding patterns are still unknown, they do appear to give birth to live young. A litter can be up to 20 plus pups.  Even though they have pretty large litters they are still endangered. My dad and I saw these amazing creatures while snorkeling in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. 

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