A LITTLE GUIDE TO STINGRAYS

Rays are often overshadowed by their more famous cousins, the sharks, but with over five hundred species they are just as diverse and varied. Around one hundred and twenty species of rays have been recorded in Australian waters, and in most areas rays are far more abundant than sharks. Stingrays are one of the better known family of rays, as most live in shallow water and are regularly encountered by divers.
    Around sixty species of stingrays have been identified in tropical and temperate waters. These rays have a disc that varies from diamond shaped to circular, and in some species oval. Stingrays generally have long tails with no dorsal or caudal fins, but some have skin folds lining the ventral surface of the tail.
    Many stingrays have tubercles on their disc and tail, and all possess tail spines. These dagger like spines vary in number and are used for defence. When threatened a stingray will lift its tail over its head and either thrust or slash with its spine. Both tiger sharks and hammerhead sharks have been found with spines in their mouths and heads. It was once thought that the spine doesn’t grow back once it was lost, but I recently found out that stingays keep in aquariums do regrow their tail spines.
    A number of human fatalities have been attributed to stingray spines, these have generally occurred when the unfortunate victim has had an artery cut or been stabbed in a vital organ. These spines are encased by venomous tissue and also have grooves on them to deliver venom into their victim, so always seek medical attention if cut by any rays spine. Luckily stingray injuries are rare as the rays prefer to flee than fight, but never corner a stingray in a cave or against a wall, allow them room to move and you will enjoy many friendly encounters.
    Stingrays feed by both day and night, with most of their prey being dug up from sandy bottoms. They feed on crustaceans, worms, molluscs and fish. Even with their defensive tail spines stingrays fall prey to large sharks, so spend most of the day hidden under a covering of sand. Stingrays also hide in caves, shipwrecks and under ledges, while larger stingrays boldly rest out in the open. Most stingrays inhabit shallow reefs, bays and estuaries, but a few live in freshwater and there is even one pelagic species. They are solitary creatures, but seem to gather in small to large groups at times to feed and mate.
    All stingrays are ovoviviparous and give birth to around a dozen live young. Mating has been observed in a number of species with the male typically biting the females pectoral fin and inserting one clasper when positioned on top or when they are belly to belly. Around twenty species of stingrays are found in Australian waters, of which thirteen are included in this guide.

Smooth Stingray - Dasyatis brevicaudata
The largest of all the stingrays, the smooth stingray can reach a width of over 2m and weigh more than 350kg. This ray is grey to greyish brown in colour and usually has a V shape of white spots around its head. It has a short tail that is covered in tubercles and has a long tail spine. The smooth stingray is found in Australia’s southern waters, from New South Wales to southern Western Australia, and also off southern Africa and New Zealand.
    Mating has been observed in this species with the male, and sometimes two males, biting onto the females pectoral fin. The male then moves under the female and inserts one clasper. The mating rays then swim off the bottom and part after only a few minutes. The young smooth stingrays are around 36cm wide at birth.
    This ray is found from shallow to deep water, off beaches and around rocky reefs. It is not a particularly common ray and is only occasionally seen by divers. The author has most regularly encountered smooth stingrays when diving off the southern New South Wales coastline, from Sydney to Merimbula. They can be seen patrolling the reef, possibly looking for food, or just resting on the bottom. These rays also feed on fishermen’s scraps, so can be seen under piers and where fishermen clean their catches. They appear to be quite wary of divers and move off when a diver gets too close.

Black Stingray - Dasyatis thetidis
The black stingray is easily confused with the smooth stingray, they are a similar colour, size and shape, and are even found in the same areas of southern Australia. But the black stingray can be identified by its longer tail, which is covered in tubercles, and by the rows of thorns that cover its back. This ray is dark grey to black on its dorsal surface and reaches a width of 1.8m .
    The black stingray is the most common stingray a diver will encounter in New South Wales. They are often seen on rocky reefs in quite shallow water. The first one the author encountered was in only 1m of water. I was only 10 years old and was snorkelling at Terrigal, just north of Sydney. After only a couple of minutes in the water I ran straight into a massive black flying saucer coming straight at me. I don’t know who got the bigger shock, as I turned one way and fled, while the black stingray did the same in the other direction. I later found out that this ray was a local celebrity, feeding on the fish scraps that fishermen threw it.
    When diving on rocky reefs divers will most often see these rays resting on rocks or sand, but they hardly ever cover themselves with sand. The author has observed this species swimming in mid water at Seal Rocks. In quite clear water the ray was about 10m off the bottom and swimming near a large school of yellowtail, so may have been feeding. Black stingrays can be quite aggressive if cornered, the author has witnessed quite a few raising their tail defensively towards divers that have swam too close. They seem to be particularly worried by groups of divers and will usually swim off.
    Mating hasn’t been recorded in this species, but the author once observed a large female and an amorous smaller male at Little Bay, Sydney. The male was quite excited and was swimming over and around the female. She wasn’t interested at all and after ignoring his initial advances she then raised her tail and pointed her spine at him each time he approached. She was clearly not interested in mating and after annoying her for almost 10 minutes he finally left her alone.

Estuary Stingray - Dasyatis fluviorum
The estuary stingray is rarely seen by divers as it prefers murky estuary waters where few divers venture, but they sometimes inhabit bays. This ray is found off Queensland, Northern Territory and northern New South Wales, and has also been recorded from Papua New Guinea. It reaches a width of 1.2m and is an olive brown colour. Very little information is available about this ray, but it is occasionally taken by prawn trawlers and is thought to feed on shellfish, especially oysters. The author once encountered two of these rays when diving the Yongala shipwreck off Townsville. On an early morning dive I was first into the water and when I reached the bottom I noticed two unusual brown rays lying partly under the sand next to the shipwreck. I swam down and just as I was getting close they lifted out of the sand and slowly moved away. I managed to get a few quick photos and later identified them as estuary stingrays.

Blue Spotted Maskray - Dasyatis kuhlii
The maskrays are small stingrays with a dark band across their eyes, several species are found in northern Australia, but only the blue spotted maskray is considered common. This ray grows to 50cm in width and is found in warm waters throughout the Indo-west Pacific and from northern New South Wales to central Western Australia. The blue spotted maskray has a diamond shape disc and a small skin fold along the underside of it tail. Its dorsal surface is grey to sandy brown with a scattering of light blue spots and usually a few dark spots. The author has noted variations in the populations of this ray. Northern tropical species seem to be small, have white bands around their tail and are very shy of divers. While the southern population, especially around southern Queensland and northern New South Wales are quite large, lack tail banding and are easily approached by divers.
    The blue spotted maskray is quite common throughout its range and is usually observed resting under the sand near the edge of reefs during the day. Most are shy of divers and swim off with their tail held high as soon as a diver gets near them, only the southern population can be closely observed. These southern rays are so bold they even feed during the day and the author was watched them digging into the sand with their mouths from only a metre away. They are usually a solitary animal, but small groups can sometimes be seen resting or feeding in the same general area.
    This ray seems to breed off southern Queensland in early summer as the author has encountered dozens of rays in groups of twos and threes lying close together, and even on top of one another. All these pairs seem to be male and female, but I am yet to witness any mating. At Shag Rock off Brisbane I observed a very bizarre event. I had just got into the water when I noticed two blue spotted maskrays swimming closely over the bottom. I slowly approached, thinking I was about to witness courtship and mating, and got a big surprise when I realised that the male was hanging onto the females tail with his teeth! All ray species seem to bite the females around the pectoral fins during mating, but this was the first time I had heard of a male biting the females tail. I followed them around the reef for several minutes as the male was being towed around. Even with the male hanging onto her tail the female could still move quite fast across the bottom. The male was hardly helping locomotion at all, only giving the odd flap of his pectoral fins. After a few more minutes the rays slowed, then the male let go of her tail. Suddenly she turned on him and chased him over the reef and off into the distance. I tried to follow but couldn’t keep up, so didn’t find out if they were going off to mate or just fight over the tail riding incident.

  Cowtail Stingray - Pastinachus sephen
The cowtail stingray has a solid tail with a long ventral skin fold towards the end of the tail. This ray generally has a greyish brown to almost black disc, but off northern Western Australia brownish orange specimens have been seen. The cowtail stingray reaches a width of 1.8m, while the young are only 20cm wide at birth. These rays have a rhomboid disc with a pointed snout and have small denticles over the centre of their backs.
    Found throughout the Indo-Pacific region, the cowtail stingray has been recorded from northern New South Wales through our tropical waters to central Western Australia. They are solitary creatures and typically found around coral reefs, lagoons, estuaries and even in rivers. By day these rays are most commonly observed lazing on the bottom with a light covering of sand. They are usually only partly covered in sand and their body mucus tends to make the sand stick to their skin even when they swim. The cowtail stingray is quite a bold ray and divers can usually get close to one without scaring it. The author has found them to be quite common on the shallow reefs off southern Queensland, from the Gold Coast to the Capricorn Bunker Group.

Blotched Fantail Ray - Taeniura meyeni
The blotched fantail ray has an almost circular disc and grows to 1.8m wide. It has a short tail with a ventral skin fold along half of its length. This ray is grey with a dense pattern of black blotches across its back. Larger rays generally have a bulky body trunk that makes them look quite fat.
    Found in tropical waters of the Indo-west Pacific, the blotched fantail ray has been recorded from central Western Australia to northern New South Wales, but its distribution is not clear in Australia. The author has regularly encountered this large ray on the Great Barrier Reef, but has found them to be most common off southern Queensland. They are usually placid creatures that can be observed closely without much problem, but if cornered they can threaten a diver with their tail spines. During the day they are often seen resting in caves and under ledges, but rarely seem to hide under the sand. The author has observed these rays sharing caves with spotted wobbegongs and grey carpet sharks.
    One of the best places to see this ray is on the Yongala shipwreck off Townsville. The author has regularly seen these rays either sheltering under the wreck, inside the wreck or on the sandy bottom. They also swim around the top of the wreck and several of these rays sometimes hover together in mid water several metres above the wreck. This hovering behaviour is quite unusual in a stingray and it may be a feeding strategy as there is quite a large number of fish around the Yongala. When the blotched fantail rays are hovering they can be approached by divers quite closely, allowing you the rare opportunity of seeing a stingrays ventral surface.

Blue Spotted Fantail Ray - Taeniura lymma
At first glance this ray appears to be similar to the blue spotted maskray, but the blue spotted fantail ray has an oval shape disc and has more striking blue spots. This small ray is very common around coral reefs and has been recorded throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Around Australia it has been found off Queensland, Northern Territory and northern Western Australia. The blue spotted fantail ray grows to 30cm in width, it has a relatively short tail with blue stripes down the side and with a minor skin fold on the underside. This ray is yellowish brown in colour.
    The blue spotted fantail ray feeds by night and day at high tide when groups of the rays move onto the reef flats to find their prey. At low tide they generally shelter under coral ledges and rarely bury themselves in the sand. This ray is quite common on the Great Barrier Reef and can be found in water less than a metre deep on reef flats. They are also found around the edge of the reef face, but don’t seem to venture into deep water. The blue spotted fantail ray is a solitary shy ray and flees from divers when disturbed. If cornered under a ledge they can become aggressive and will wave their tail spines at a threatening diver.

Mangrove Whipray - Himantura granulata
The whiprays are a group of stingrays with very long whip like tails that have no skin folds. The mangrove whipray is quite a distinctive ray, it has an oval shaped disc, a pointed snout, a black coloured dorsal surface that is covered in small white spots and a long white tail. This ray grows to over 1.3m wide and is found off the Northern Territory, Queensland and northern Western Australia, and also in the Indo-west Pacific area.
    As its name implies the mangrove whipray is generally found in shallow water around mangroves and estuaries, but it also ventures into bays and onto coral reefs. Divers seldom see this ray in Australia and the only ones the author has observed were on a coral reef off Gizo in the Solomon Islands.

Reticulate Whipray - Himantura uarnak
The reticulate whipray is a large stingray growing to over 1.5m in width. This ray is sandy brown and covered with a darker reticulated pattern over its dorsal surface. The reticulate whipray is another tropical species found off northern Western Australia to Queensland and has also been found in other parts of the Indo-west Pacific.
    Not a lot is known about this ray and its distribution is still unclear. The author has encountered this ray species a number of times around southern Queensland, but I first found them off Double Island Point, Rainbow Beach, north of Noosa. Off the point is a small rocky reef, known as Round Bommie, surrounded by sand where a number of stingray species feed. On one dive I encountered three reticulate whiprays resting under the sand. Two of these rays were quite shy and took off as soon as we got near them, but the third ray was untroubled by our presence and allowed us to photograph it at close quarters.

Leopard Whipray - Himantura undulata
The leopard whipray is easily confused with the reticulate whipray but is identified by its circular spots that decorate its dorsal surface. This ray reaches a width of 1.4m and has an exceptionally long tail. It is sandy brown in colour with a covering of leopard like spots. The leopard whipray ranges throughout the Indo-west Pacific, and along the northern coast of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland. Off Queensland it was thought to be only found in the far north, but the author has encountered dozens of these rays off Brisbane, so extending its range several thousand kilometres.
    The leopard whipray is probably the most attractive of all the rays. It appears to be a solitary creature and the author has observed them resting and feeding during the day. I have often seen these rays resting with other rays, such as the white spotted guitarfish, blue spotted maskray and the smalleye whipray. The leopard whiprays the author has encountered don’t appear to be too worried by divers, allowing them to get quite close, and they will even continue to feed as long as they don’t feel threatened.

Pink Whipray - Himantura fai
The pink whipray is also known as the Tahitian stingray, and looks quite similar to the undescribed smalleye whipray, but it has a sharper nose, is a lot smaller and has a much longer tail. Little is really known about this ray, it is light grey to pinkish grey in colour, and most of its tail is black in colour. The pink whipray is thought to grow to 1m in width, but possibly to 1.5m, and reaches a length of 5m if one includes its impressive tail.
    Distribution of the pink whipray is still not clear, but it has been recorded in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from India to Thailand, Micronesia to Polynesia, and from the tropical waters of Australia. This ray has been noted to gather in feeding aggregations in shallow reef lagoons. The author has only encountered one of these rays while diving at North Stradbroke Island. It was quite shy and when I first saw the ray it was feeding along side a cowtail stingray. I encountered the ray several times on the dive and was fortunate enough to get close enough for several photos. I was most impressed by its tail length, easily the longest tail of any stingray.

Roundnose Whipray - Himantura sp.
Very little is known about the roundnose whipray and it is awaiting description. This ray is black to greyish blue in colour and grows to about 1m in width. It can be identified by the row of denticles that stud its back. This ray has been recorded off Queensland, Lord Howe Island and also South Africa, but it is probably more wide spread.
    The author has only ever seen one of these rays, and that was when I was diving at Flinders Reef in the Coral Sea. It was quite an extraordinary encounter as the roundnose whipray was feeding on the sand, and feeding with it was a trevally. As the ray grubbed in the sand with its mouth clouds of sand would  puff around its head and the trevally would charge in to pick up food scraps. The trevally was strategically placed on the rays back to intercept any escaping prey, it also looked like to was getting a ride when the ray moved to a new feeding spot. I followed the pair for several minutes before they moved off into deeper water.

Smalleye Whipray - Himantura sp.
The smalleye whipray is another undescribed species of stingray, until recently it had only been recorded off Thailand and India, but the authors observations and photographs have now recorded it off Brisbane as well. The smalleye whipray has very large spiracles and grows to about 2m in width. It is a greyish brown colour and lacks denticles on its back.
    The author has regularly encountered this ray off North Stradbroke Island in water less than 15m deep. They are usually observed singular, but I have also seen schools of twenty or more rays resting under the sand and on top of each other. When resting these rays can be approached, but if one starts to get restless they all start to move and great clouds of sand soon get stirred up as the rays shuffle around. I have also observed these rays swimming around the reef in large groups, either following each other or swimming side by side. They sometimes seem to swim circuits and on a few dives I’ve had the same school swim past me half a dozen times. Smalleye whiprays are far easier to approach when a single ray is resting on the bottom.

The other species of Australian stingrays not included in this article are found in deep water or are restricted to tropical areas that the author hasn’t dived yet. Encounters with stingrays are always interesting and with so little really known about them divers have the opportunity to observe fascinating and unrecorded behaviour.

Article appeared in Sportdiving Magazine No.117 Aug/Sep 2006