Scaly whipray

Scaly whipray
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Dasyatidae
Genus: Himantura
Species: H. imbricata
Binomial name
Himantura imbricata
(Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms

Raja imbricata Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801
Raja obtusa Ehrenberg in Klunzinger, 1871

The scaly whipray (Himantura imbricata) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific oceans from the Red Sea and Mauritius to Indonesia. Its width is up to 25 cm, and it may reach 1.4 m in length.

The scaly whipray is found in inshore coastal waters, typically in estuarine habitats. Its disc width is equal to its disc length, and the tail is shorter than the body. The ventral surface of the disc is entirely white. Young and adults feed on benthic invertebrates, and juveniles may be present in mangroves.

They migrate between saltwater and freshwater, though not for the purpose of breeding. They do not migrate more than 100 km.

Reproduction is ovoviviparous.[2]

References

  1. Manjaji, B.M., P.R. Last and W.T. White (2004). "Himantura imbricata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Himantura imbricata" in FishBase. July 2006 version.
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