Orectolobus halei, the Gulf wobbegong or banded wobbegong, is a carpet shark

Carpet shark

The carpet sharks are an order, Orectolobiformes, of sharks, so called because many members have ornate patterns reminiscent of carpets....

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Orectolobidae, found in southern Australia

Southern Australia

The term southern Australia is generally considered to include the States and territories of Australia of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory...

 between Southport, Queensland

Southport, Queensland

-Sport:The Southport Sharks Australian rules football club has a presence in the area, including a club and function centre.-Transport:The Broadwaterway is a foreshoreway that encourages pedestrians and cyclists to travel along the Broadwater foreshores of Southport.A ferry terminal is planned for...

 and Norwegian Bay, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

O. halei is very similar to the ornate wobbegong

Ornate wobbegong

The ornate wobbegong, Orectolobus ornatus, is a 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...

, O. ornatus, of which it was treated as a synomym

Synonym (taxonomy)

In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...

 until 2006. Despite this, genetic

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 evidence suggests that O. halei is more closely related to the largely sympatric spotted wobbegong

Spotted wobbegong

The spotted wobbegong, Orectolobus maculatus, is a carpet shark in the family Orectolobidae, found in the eastern Indian Ocean from Western Australia to southern Queensland, between latitudes 20° S to 40° S. It reaches a length of 3 meters ....

, O. maculatus, than either are to the generally more northern O. ornatus.

Compared to O. ornatus, O. halei has more dermal lobes at the posterior preorbital group, a shorter pelvic fin to anal fin interspace, larger pectoral fins, a larger head and larger claspers when mature. It also reaches a significantly larger size, growing to a maximum length of 2.9 metres (9.5 ft), while O. ornatus only reaches 1.17 metres (3.8 ft).

Reproduction is ovoviviparous.