abstract:The ornate wobbegong (Orectolobus ornatus) is a species of carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, found in the western Pacific Ocean around eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia, between latitudes 1° N and 34° S (near Sydney). As yet, only Australian populations are known to certainly belong to this species, and it is possible populations in other countries actually represent a separate, undescribed species.