Freaky Fish Friday - Splendid Toadfish (Sanopus splendidus)

Scientific Name:  Sanopus splendidus

Category:  Toadfishes

Also known as:  Coral Toadfish

Size:  4-6 inches

Depth:  25-60 feet

Distribution:  Cozumel (Endemic)

FOUND ONLY IN COZUMEL...

The splendid toadfish, Sanopus splendidus, also known as the coral toadfish, is a species of toadfish found only near the island of Cozumel.  The splendid toadfish stands out from other members of the toadfish family because of its vibrant colors. It has bright yellow fins that contain distinctive patterning, and its head is covered with dark and white stripes.  The species has a total of eight fins; two dorsal fins, two pectoral fins, two pelvic fins, a caudal fin and an anal fin.  With the exception of the pelvic fins, all the fins are bordered by the bright yellow coloring. Quite the dapper little dude - don't you think?

 

THEY DWELL CLOSE TO THE SAND...

Don't think he looks like your typical toadfish?  Well, the structural features of the species are indeed similar to other members in the toadfish family.  Common characteristics are the flat and broadened head, and the barbells.  Like most species that dwell close to the sand, the splendid toadfish has eyes located on the top of its head which look directly upwards as there is mostly no need for a horizontal vision.  Small and sharp teeth also fill wide jaws.

THE SPLENDID TOADFISH IS A SHY GUY...

The splendid toadfish is a shy creature despite its brilliant coloring.  You will have to peek under coral outcroppings to find this little guy.  Look for a sloping sand patch near the base of the coral to find their dens.  Don't be disappointed when they don't come out to say "hola", they are difficult to coax out from their homes.

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Freaky Fish Friday - Sarcastic Fringehead

Found in the Pacific, along the California coast and down to Baja (San Francisco Bay down to Cedros Island), they can be found in depths ranging from 10 to 240 feet. Sometimes seen out and about on the sea floor, generally you will spot them in their preferred home, that of a hole or crevice in a wall, or maybe a shell, with only their heads poking out. Remember to be careful when picking up trash or lost items while on your dive. I once disturbed a sarcastic fringehead's home when I went to retrieve a partially buried SCUBA fin I didn't know was occupied. I didn't have the heart to tell him the fin didn't belong in the ocean, so I left him with his treasured condo.

THESE UNUSUAL LOOKING FISH HAVE BULBOUS EYES & ODDLY LARGE MOUTHS

These unusual looking fish with elongated bodies, bulbous eyes and oddly large mouths can grow up to 12 inches in length. Their bodies are mainly scaleless with large pectoral fins and smaller pelvic fins. They are generally a brownish-gray color, mottled with red or green patches. On their dorsal fins, you will find two eye-like spots, called "ocelli", that are generally colored blue and outlined with a ring of yellow.

The sarcastic fringehead gets its common name from the fringe-like appendages above its eyes, and its territorial, aggressive behavior. When two sarcastic fringeheads meet in battle for territory, they wrestle with one another by pressing their distended, yellow-webbed mouths against each other, as if they were kissing. The fish with the larger mouth wins and establishes its dominance.

Take a close look and you might notice the tail

of a pipefish sticking out of its mouth.

KNOW TO EAT OVER 13 TIMES THEIR BODY WEIGHT

Known to eat over 13 times their body weight in a year, Sarcastic fringeheads are omnivores, meaning they eat both meat and plants. Spawning season for these fish is generally from January to August. Typically the female hides her eggs in a crevice or clam burrow, then leaves them for the male to guard until they hatch.

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References

1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Neoclinus blanchardi" in FishBase. February
        2013 version.
2. http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/sarcastic_fringehead
3. Denny, Mark; Steven Gaines (200). Chance in Biology. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
        p. 13. ISBN 0691094942.
4. California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigation (CALCOFI), 1996. The Early Stages of
        Fishes in the California Current Region. Lawrence, California: Allen Press Inc.
5. July 18, 2000. A Learning Link to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Los Angeles Times: E8.
6. Gotshall, D. 1989. Pacific Coast Inshore Fishes. Monterey, California: Sea Challengers.

Freaky Fish Friday - Mantis Shrimp

Marine crustaceans of the Stomatopoda order, mantis shrimp were named for their physical resemblance to the praying mantis. They appear in a variety of colors from browns to bright neons, and may grow up to 12 inches in length. [1] Most species live in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans between eastern Africa and Hawaii, although some live in temperate waters.

MANTIS SHRIMP ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR POWERFUL CLAWS

Fairly common animals, they often go unnoticed because they spend most their time hiding in burrows in the seabed or holes in rock formations. Important predators in shallow waters, mantis shrimp are known for their powerful claws which they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment. [2] Unlike most crustaceans, mantis shrimp will not just wait for prey to happen upon their lair, but will actually leave their homes to hunt, chase and kill prey. They can be diurnal (active during the day), nocturnal (active at night) or crepuscular (active during dawn or dusk), depending on the species.

The mantis shrimp is often divided into two groups depending upon the type of claw they possess:

• Spearers are armed with spiny appendages topped with barbed tips, used to stab and snag prey. They use their barbed claws to slice and snag the meat of softer animals, like fish.
• Smashers, on the other hand, possess a much more developed club and a more rudimentary spear (which is nevertheless quite sharp); the club is used to bludgeon and smash their meals apart. Smashers use their ability to attack snails, crabs, molluscs and rock oysters.

THEY ARE QUITE CAPABLE OF INFLICTING SERIOUS DAMAGE

Regardless of which group they are placed in, these shrimp use their claws to strike by rapidly unfolding and swinging them at their prey. They are quite capable of inflicting serious damage on victims significantly greater in size than themselves.  Because they strike so rapidly, they generate cavitation bubbles between the appendage and the striking surface. [3] The collapse of these cavitation bubbles produces measurable forces on their prey in addition to the initial impact of the claw, which means that the prey is hit twice by a single strike; first by the claw and then by the collapsing cavitation bubbles that immediately follow. [4] Even if the initial strike misses the prey, the resulting shock wave can be enough to kill or stun the prey.

Strongest Punch in the World... [5]

Close-up of the trinocular vision of

Pseudosquilla ciliata

photographed by Shumpei Maruyama

THEY CAN SEE OBJECTS WITH THREE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE SAME EYE

Mantis shrimp have eyes mounted on mobile stalks which constantly move independently of each other and are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. [6][7] Designed with trinocular vision, they can see objects with three different parts of the same eye and have enhanced depth perception. They perceive both polarized light and hyperspectral color vision (more than red, green and blue bands of light). [8]

The eyes of mantis shrimp may enable them to recognize different types of coral, prey species (which are often transparent or semi-transparent), or predators, such as barracuda, which have shimmering scales. Alternatively, the manner in which mantis shrimp hunt (very rapid movements of the claws) may require very accurate ranging information, which would require accurate depth perception.

Mantis shrimp are long-lived. In a lifetime, they can have as many as 20 or 30 breeding episodes. Depending on the species, the eggs can be laid and kept in a burrow, or carried around under the female's tail until they hatch. Also depending on the species, male and female may come together only to mate, or they may bond in monogamous long-term relationships. [9] In the monogamous species, the mantis shrimp remain with the same partner for up to 20 years.

MANTIS SHRIMP CAN REMEMBER WELL

Mantis shrimp exhibit complex behaviour, such as ritualised fighting. Some species use fluorescent patterns on their bodies for signalling with their own and maybe even other species, expanding their range of behavioural signals. They can learn and remember well, and are able to recognise individual neighbors with whom they frequently interact. They can recognise them by visual signs and even by individual smell. Many have developed complex social behaviour to defend their space from rivals.

Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis - Californian Mantis Shrimp

HOW DANGEROUS ARE THE STRIKES OF COMMON MANTIS SHRIMPS TO HUMANS?

"I handle stomatopods every day in our lab and when I'm in the field it is not uncommon to measure and sex 150 animals in an evening. Needless to say, I'm struck fairly often. Some species are far worse than others, but it usually hurts. Even a 2 cm Gonodactylus can draw blood and a 4 cm animal can drive the dactyl tips to the bone. Aside from a two inch slice in my hand made by a large lysiosquillid (by the uropod spine, not the dactyl), the most severe injury I have incurred was from a 7 cm Gonodactylus chiragra that drove its dactyl into the joint of my index finger and the tip broke off. It took some minor surgery to remove it. But that is nothing compared to what happen to a diver from South Africa who wrote me a few years ago describing his attempt to grab by hand an 18 cm Odontodactylus. The animal severely injured his finger which became infected by a chiton-digesting bacteria. The infection did not respond to the usual antibiotics. In the end, they amputated the finger. Be careful out there!

- Dr. Roy Caldwell

Web Site Author: A. Sunjian Note: There are newspaper reports of large Hemisquilla cutting off people's fingers with one strike, although how much credence can be given to stories like these is open to doubt."

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References

1. James Gonser (February 14, 2003). "Large shrimp thriving in Ala Wai Canal muck". Honolulu Advertiser. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Feb/14/ln/ln01a.html.
2. Ross Piper (2007). Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313339228.
3. S. N. Patek, W. L. Korff, and R. L. Caldwell (2004). "Deadly strike mechanism of a mantis shrimp". Nature 428 (6985): 819–820. Bibcode 2004Natur.428..819P. doi:10.1038/428819a. PMID 15103366.
4. S. N. Patek & R. L. Caldwell (2005). "Extreme impact and cavitation forces of a biological hammer: strike forces of the peacock mantis shrimp". Journal of Experimental Biology 208 (19): 3655–3664. doi:10.1242/jeb.01831. PMID 16169943.
5. Strongest Punch in the World on YouTube.
6. "Mantis shrimp have the world's most complex colour vision system." - Justin Marshall, University of Queensland
7. Patrick Kilday (September 28, 2005). "Mantis shrimp boasts most advanced eyes". The Daily Californian. http://www.dailycal.org/sharticle.php?id=19671.
8. Justin Marshall & Johannes Oberwinkler (1999). "Ultraviolet vision: the colourful world of the mantis shrimp". Nature 401 (6756): 873–874. Bibcode 1999Natur.401..873M. doi:10.1038/44751. PMID 10553902
9. "Sharing the job: monogamy and parental care". University of California, Berkeley. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/aquarius/monogamy.html.
10. The Lurker's Guide to Stomatopods - mantis shrimp 
11. Californian mantis shrimp (deep sea) on YouTube.

Freaky Fish Friday - Narwhal

While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are now into the frigid winter season, what better topic to write about than that of a special, you might even say mythical, Arctic creature, the Narwhal. These unusual creatures are what legends are made of and the source of its horn has been the topic of a few tales.

The Inuit legend of the Narwhal

A wicked woman lived with her daughter and her son, who was born blind. As the son got older, his sight improved, even though the mother tried to convince him of his helpless state. One day a polar bear came near the house and the mother told the son to aim a bow and arrow at the bear through the window covered with seal skin and strike him down. The boy pulled back the arrow and the mother took aim from him. The arrow struck the heart of the bear and although the boy could hear the groans of the dying bear, the mother laughed scornfully at him, saying that he had missed the bear. That night the mother and the daughter had fresh polar bear meat while the mother cooked dog meat for the son. Later the boy's sister told her brother that his shot was successful and secretly gave him meat.

Time passed and an old man came to the house for a visit. Before he left, he told the young girl how she could help her brother regain his sight. In the spring, he told them to watch for a red-throated loon who would swim trustingly toward them. Once the loon was close enough, the blind brother should wrap his arms around the loon's neck and the loon would take him to the bottom of the lake. Once they came up, his sight would return. The loon told the young man not to tell about his regained sight until later in the summer when he would send a pod of belugas to their campsite. 

When summer came and the ice began to break, the belugas began to move. On one occasion, a pod was closer to land than usual. The young man grabbed his harpoon and told his sister to accompany him to help him aim. They went to the shoreline and the mother, seeing the son with a harpoon, became concerned and followed them. Once she was close to them, the son gave the end of the line from the harpoon to his mother, asking her to tie it around her waist to hold the harpooned animal. The concerned mother told her daughter to make sure he was after a small animal as she was tied to the harpoon. The son instead aimed for the largest whale and harpooned him. The mother was cast into the sea. As she submerged she spiraled around the line, with her long hair twisting into a long lance. This is how the narwhal came to be. 

IS THE NARWHAL A REAL LIFE UNICORN?

In medieval times, Europeans believed the narwhal tusk was the horn from the legendary unicorn and it came with all the unicorn's magical powers. Believed to cure poisoning and melancholia, Vikings and other northern traders sold the horns for more than their weight in gold.

The name narwhal comes from the old Norse word "nar" which means corpse, referencing the blue-grayish, mottled pigmentation like that of a drowned sailor (calves are actually born brown, with no spots). The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is a Greek derivative meaning "one-tooth one-horn" or "one-toothed unicorn". The narwhal, or narwhale as it is also known, is a medium-sized, toothed whale that lives year-round in the Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic waters, and whose closest relative is the beluga whale.

This fascinating horn is actually a very long tooth. All narwhals are born with 2 teeth in their upper jaw. After the first year of life, the male narwhal's left tooth grows outward in a counterclockwise spiral. The tooth can grow upwards of 7 to 10 feet long. The function of the tooth is not exactly known. It has been suggested it might be used as a display of dominance during rivalry or courtship, it may aid in obtaining food, or even be used to amplify sonar pulses emitted by the narwhal, but it has not been shown to be used as a weapon. "Tusking" is a behavior displayed by males when they rub their tusks against one another, possibly to determine dominance within the group.

Narwhals travel in pods of 4 (keeping to generally smaller groups under the winter ice cap)  up to 20 in the summer, feeding on fish, shrimp and squid. In winter, they eat benthic critters (flat fish) as deep as 4900 ft (1500 m) under the arctic ice. They are the deepest diving mammals. Their dives can last anywhere from 7 to 25 minutes. Sometimes these groups fall victim to the shifting ice pack, get trapped and are hunted by Inuit, polar bears, orcas, or walruses. In the summer they congregate in larger groups, in shallower ice-free waters.

Narwhals are very vocal creatures, making clicks, squeals and whistles to communicate and/or navigate.

Paul Nicklen/National Geographic/Getty Images

Fast Facts

Type:        Mammal
Diet:         Carnivore
Size:         13 to 20 ft (4 to 6.1m)
Weight:     3,500 lbs (1,600 kg)
At Birth:    5 ft; 175 lbs
Max Life Span:  50 yrs

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[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal
[2] http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Narwhal.shtml
[3] http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/narwhal/
[4] http://www.narwhal.org/IntuitLegend.html

Freaky Fish Friday - Flying Gunard

The first time I saw these cute little guys was while critter diving in the Philippines. It was fascinating to watch them spread their wings and "take flight". I never got tired seeing them. I may have only spotted them in the Philippines, but the flying gurnard can be found from Hawaii to Japan, southward to central Polynesia, westward through Micronesia and Melanesia, through the East Indies, and across the Indian Ocean to the coast of Africa. They prefer sandy bottoms and are generally found in shallow waters near the shore, but can be found at depths of up to 330 feet.

ALSO KNOWN AS A SEA ROBIN

Flying Gurnards are classified in the scientific family Dactylopteridae, meaning "finger-fin". The word "gurnard" actually comes from an Old French word meaning "grunt". These fish get their name because of a special muscle in their bodies that pounds against their swim bladder when they are removed from the water, causing them to make a grunting sound. (Another common name for these fish is Sea Robin.)

These fish can actually grow up to 16 inches and are usually a grayish-brown color with dark markings and bright blue edges on their round pectoral fins. These pectoral fins are normally held tight to their bodies unless they feel threatened, then they expand their "wings" to increase their size and scare off predators. This also helps them to blend into their bottom surroundings.

RATHER THAN FLY THEY WALK

As you know, flying gurnards don't actually fly. However, they can use their "wings" to help make short burst of "flight" through the water. To motor around, they generally use finger-like appendages on the front of their pelvic fins to walk on the ocean floor, hence their family classification. They search through the sand to munch on bony fish, crustaceans, and bi-valves.

HOW CAN THESE TOUGH GUYS LOOK SO CUTE?

These fish have been described as resembling frogs when you look at them from the side because of their large heads and eyes, and light-colored underbellies. Their body is covered in "armor" consisting of tough, prickly scales and two large hook-like spurs near the gills. So here's my question, how can these tough guys look so cute?

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Freaky Fish Friday - Cuttlefish

Ngerchong Inside dive site (Palau)

Photo courtesy of Liz Tuttle

Often called the "chameleon of the sea" because of its ability to change the color of its skin at will, the cuttlefish is actually not a fish at all, but really a mollusk. Belonging to the class Cephalopoda (which means head-footed), they are the cousin of the squid, octopus, and nautilus.

The cuttlefish possesses a beak-like mouth...

The cuttlefish can range in size from 1 inch to 3 feet (and even bigger in the case of the giant Australian cuttlefish which may grow to the size of a small man). It possesses eight sucker-lined arms and two prehensile tentacles (which can be withdrawn into pouches under the eyes) and a sharp, beak-like mouth which allows it to cut open flesh like a pair of scissors, so it can use its tentacles to tear out meat. It hunts during daylight, feeding primarily on small fish, crustaceans and other mollusks.

It moves about by means of propulsion

It moves about in the water by way of a complex propulsion and bouyancy system (much like a submarine). "The cuttlefish propels itself using a series of spurts, drawing water into a compression chamber which it squeezes to jet the water out a funnel under the head. Direction changes can be made by swivelling the nozzle of this funnel, and narrowing the funnel controls speed. Like a submarine, the cuttlefish fills tiny compartments in its cuttlebone with gas to help maintain neutral buoyancy. This helps the cephalopod hover above the ocean floor, because although it has a sophisticated propulsion system its large cuttlebone does not allow it to be overly active, or quick in the water. " [1]

Staying neutral

Redrawn after Clarkson, E.,

Invertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution,

George Allen and Unwin, London,

1979 (Seventh impression 1984), p.167.

The cuttlefish is a bottom-dweller which often lies in ambush for smaller animals. For this way of life, it needs to keep itself at neutral buoyancy, so that it neither sinks nor rises...in order to be able to operate at varying depths and water densities, cuttlefish need to be able to adjust their overall density so as to always remain ‘neutral’ in the water. The cuttlefish does this by an ingenious mechanism. The bony shell actually has many narrow chambers. If these were all filled with gas, they would give a lift of up to 4% of the animal’s weight. However, they are only part-filled with gas—the darker areas shown are where it is part-filled with liquid. The cuttlefish is able to pump liquid in and out of that section as needed to keep the buoyancy ‘just right’. [1]  

The cuttlefish actually has 3 hearts

The cuttlefish actually has 3 hearts - one for each set of gills and one for the remaining body. Unlike our own blood which gets its red color from the pigment hemoglobin, the cuttlefish's heart pumps blue-green blood which uses hemocyanin pigment to carry oxygen. Its skin is comprised of 3 layers of color pigment cells called chromatophores. These cells are controlled by the nervous system which signals them to expand or contract at a remarkable speed allowing for the hypnotic transformation of the cuttlefish's coloration and pattern.

A strange fact about cuttlefish...

Close-up of a cuttlefish eye

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

"A strange fact about the cuttlefish is that it can adopt the female coloration along one side of the body as well as retain the male coloration on the other side. Male cuttlefish are extremely alert when it comes to the females, especially if she is laying the eggs. The male will guard aggressively over the female and this is when another approaching male will use his ability to have a dual look to access the female and trick the male." [2]

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[1] Weston, Paula, ‘Fascinating Cuttlefish', answersingenesis.org, March 1, 1997.

[2] Lad, Kashmira, ‘Cuttlefish Facts', buzzle.com. 

Freaky Fish Friday - Blue Dragon (Glaucus atlanticus)

The first time I saw a picture of this little guy I thought it had to be a photoshop thing; some little creature made up by some talented artist. It made me want to delve deeper, and you know what I found - It really does exist!

Believe it or not...it's pelagic

Believe it or not, this little sea slug or nudibranch, is pelagic (lives in the open water). It is often found floating upside down on the surface of the ocean in temperate and tropical waters in such regions as the east and south coasts of South Africa, Mozambique, European waters, the east coast of Australia, and the islands of Hawaii. They also have been spotted in the waters of Bermuda.

When fully grown it's a whopping 3-4cm...

Its average size when fully grown is a whopping 3-4cm. The blue dragon's floating abilities are due to a gas-filled sac located in its stomach. Because of its location, this sac causes the slug to float upside down exposing its blue-white foot to the surface of the water, leaving the silver-gray dorsal surface facing downward into the water. This is an example of counter shading, where the coloration helps to protect the organism from it predators both below and above. These slugs spend most of their lives drifting along, directed by currents and winds. They are generally not observed by humans except on those occasions when strong onshore winds bring masses of them (often called the "blue fleet") to beaches, causing much pain for swimmers and beach-goers.

Blue Dragons are cannibalistic

Common names for this beautiful slug are blue dragon, blue glaucus, blue sea slug, blue ocean slug, and sea swallow. G. atlanticus is carnivorous and preys on other, larger pelagic organisms such as the venomous Portuguese Man o' War, the by-the-wind sailor, the blue button, and the violet snail. They have also been known to become cannibalistic.

It's immune to the venom of a Portuguese Man o' War

The blue dragon is immune to the venomous nematocysts of the Portuguese Man o' War, and when consuming this animal, appears to select and store the most venomous nematocysts in specialized sacs called cnidosacs on the tip of its feather-like fingers. Because it is able to store up this venom for future use, ironically it can produce a more powerful and deadly sting than the man 'o war upon which it feeds.

Blue Dragons are hermaphrodites...

Blue dragons are hermaphrodites (have both male and female reproductive organs). After mating, both animals produce 4-6 egg strings within an hour that float freely in the water or are placed on the remains of prey. These busy little slugs can produce from 3300-8900 eggs per day.

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References:

1.   Glaucus atlanticus Forster, 1777. World Register of Marine Species, accessed 3 April 2010.

2.  "Marine Species Identification Portal : Glaucus atlanticus". Species-identification.org. http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=pelagic_molluscs&id=189. Retrieved 2011-11-21.

3. Rudman, W. B. (6 November 1998). "Glaucus atlanticus Forster, 1777". Sea Slug Forum. http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=glauatla. Retrieved 26 February 2011.

4.  Debelius, H.; Kuiter, R. H. (2007). Nudibranchs of the world. IKAN-Unterwasserarchiv. ISBN 978-3-939767-06-0.

5.   http://seaslugsofhawaii.com/species/Glaucus-atlanticus-a.html

6.   http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/marineinvertebratezoology/glaucusatlanticus.html

Freaky Fish Friday - Wobbegong (Orectolobidae)

The word wobbegong is believed to come from an Australian Aboriginal word meaning "shaggy beard", referring to the growths around the mouth of the unusual-looking shark of the western Pacific.

Wobbegong...a carpet shark

Wobbegong is the common name given to the 12 species of carpet sharks in the family Orectolobidae. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean, chiefly around Australia and Indonesia, although one species (the Japanese wobbegong, Orectolobus japonicus) occurs as far north as Japan. 

Wobbegongs are ambush predators

Wobbegongs are bottom-dwelling sharks and spend much of their time resting on the sea floor. Wobbegongs are well camouflaged with a symmetrical pattern of bold markings which resembles a carpet, hence the name "carpet shark". The camouflage is improved by the presence of small whisker-like lobes^[1] surrounding the wobbegong's jaw, which it uses to entice and catch fish. Wobbegongs are ambush predators. They use their relative invisibility to hide among rocks and catch smaller fish which swim too close. Most species have a maximum length of 4 feet or less, but the largest, the spotted wobbegong (Orectolobus maculatus) and banded wobbegong (O. halei), reach about nearly 10 feet in length.

They're only dangerous when provoked

Wobbegongs are generally not dangerous unless they are provoked. They have been known to bite people who accidentally step on them in shallow water. To avoid being bitten, divers should avoid contact. Scuba divers or snorkelers must never poke or touch them, or block their escape route. Wobbegongs are very flexible and can easily bite a hand that is holding onto their tail.^[2]  They have many small but sharp teeth. Their bite can be severe, even through a wetsuit.  Wobbegongs have been known to hang on once they have inflicted their bite and can be very difficult to remove.^[3] 

Spotted wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus,

showing the camouflage pattern and skin flaps typical of wobbegongs.

Facts About Wobbegong Sharks

• They are so flat in their shape that they look like the part of the sea floor.
• They move slowly in water.
• Diet: lobster, crab & octopus
• They normally are not dangerous, but there have been 23 confirmed attacks.
• Normally, it is not an aggressive creature.
• Attacks only when provoked.
• The females of these species can deliver around 37 young at a time.

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^[1]^ "Wobbegongs - five species encountered in Queensland". Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries. 2009-03-02.  http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/dpi/hs.xsl/28_12484_ENA_HTML.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-14.

^[2]^ Kuiter, Rudie (1999). Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia (amended ed.). New Holland Publishers (Aust.) Pty Ltd. p. 12. ISBN 1-86436-091-7.

^[3]^ "Shark sinks its teeth in for the long haul". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2004-02-12.  http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/11/1076388440368.html. Retrieved 2006-06-14.