Japanese wobbegong: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Japanese wobbegong lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Orectolobus japonicus
Group	Sharks
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Orectolobiformes
Family	Orectolobidae

Where does the Japanese wobbegong live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Japanese wobbegong in 1 country or territory across Asia.

Chinese Taipei

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Japanese wobbegong endangered?

The Japanese wobbegong’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Japanese wobbegong?

The Japanese wobbegong (Orectolobus japonicus) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Orectolobiformes and the family Orectolobidae, genus Orectolobus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Japanese wobbegong

The Japanese wobbegong (Orectolobus japonicus) is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae of the wobbegong family, found in the tropical western Pacific Ocean from Japan and Korea to Vietnam and the Philippines, between latitudes 43 and 6°N. It reaches a length of 1 m.

The genome of Orectolobus japonicus is 16,706 base pairs long and follows the usual vertebrate gene arrangement, but its tRNA-Ser2 gene is different because it lacks the dihydrouridine arm and can't form the normal cloverleaf structure. Japanese wobbegong sharks typically remain motionless during the daytime and are not active hunters. They use camouflage and their electroreceptor pores on their dorsal area to help them sense prey nearby.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Japanese wobbegong (revision 1370000138), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q31794 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).