Common
Names:
Leopard whipray, Leopard whiptail stingray, Leopard whiptail ray.
Latin
Name:
Himantura undulata, Trygon undulata (synonym).
Family:
Dasyatidae
Identification:
A very large whiptail stingray with a bold pattern of irregular jaguar-like
spots. Rhomboid
disc with rounded tips. Anterior margin almost straight.
Dorsum pale.
Size:
Max
disc width 1.4m. Total recorded length 4.1m
Habitat:
Found inshore in sandy bays. Sometimes
found adjacent to rocky reefs.
Abundance
and distribution: Indo Pacific region from Bay of Bengal to
Northern Australia. Absent from western Indian Ocean.
Behavior:
Rests in shallow bays partially
covered by sand.
Reproduction:
Ovoviviparous.
Similar species: The leopard
whipray shares some of it's range with the honeycomb whipray Himantura uarnak
which can be distinguished by a pattern of much smaller spots.
Reaction to divers: Probably difficult to approach.
Diving
logistics:
Most images taken in the wild of
leopard stingrays indicate that it is most often seen in Queensland Australia.
Please send reports of encounters with this stingray to elasmodiver.
Other diving locations submitted by
readers:
Further
reading:
Sharks
and Rays - Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann. IKAN.
Reef Sharks and Rays of the World - Scott
Michael
Fishbase.org
