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Blotched Fantail Ray
Taeniura meyeni Müller & Henle, 1841
Above and below: A Blotched Fantail Ray at a depth of 18 m, Julian Rocks, New South Wales, November 2005. Photo © D. Harasti. View larger image.
The Blotched Fantail Ray has a roughly circular-shaped disc that has a mottled black and white pattern on the upper surface. There are no thorns on on the disk. When undamaged, the depressed tail is slightly longer than the disk. It has a prominent skin fold that extends to the tail tip.
It grows to about 3.3 m in total length and 1.8 m in disc width.
The Blotched Fantail Ray is a bottom dwelling species that can be found in inshore and coral reef waters usually on sandy substrates.
It occurs widely in the Indo-west and central Pacific Oceans. In Australia it is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north of the country and south on the east coast as far as northern New South Wales and Lord Howe Island.
It has also been called the Black-blotched Stingray, Bull Ray, Blackspotted Stingray, Giant Reef Ray and Round Ribbontail Ray.
The species is not generally aggressive but is responsible for at least one human fatality.
Related Links
- Blue-spotted Fantail Ray fact sheet
- Smooth Stingray fact sheet
- Blue-spotted Stingray fact sheet
- Black Stingray fact sheet
- View the Stingrays list
- View the Family Dasyatidae list
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Last, P.R. & J.D. Stevens. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO. Pp. 513.
- Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific: New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawai’i Press. Pp. 584.
