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Shark picture - green sawfish

BLUE SPOTTED STINGRAY

bluespotted maskray

Photograph copyright Andy Murch

View all available Blue Spotted Stingray Pictures in the Shark Pictures Database

Common Names: Bluespotted maskray, bluespotted stingray, Kuhls stingray.

Accepted Binomial: Neotrygon kuhlii

Synonyms: Dasyatis kuhlii, Trygon kuhlii.

Family: Dasyatidae

Identification: Rhomboid disc, Anterior and posterior margins of disc mildly convex. Rostrum grey or tan with blue (occasionally white) spots about eye size and smaller black spots. Tail about 2 times body length. End of tail banded with black and white.

Size: Max disc width 50cm

Habitat: Sandy bottoms often adjacent to reefs. Prefers deeper areas but may be seen in shallow lagoons.

Abundance and distribution: Common in sandy bays in South East Asia . Widespread throughout the Indo Pacific from the Red Sea to Japan and south to Australia .

Behavior: Buries in sand or cruises over reef flats looking for crabs and shrimps.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous

Observations:

Photographs: Racha Yai, Phuket , Thailand .

Similar species: Blue stingray (Dasyatis chrysonota), Blue spotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma).

Reaction to divers: Often explodes from the sand and bolts from divers that unknowingly swim over its resting place. Considered difficult to approach but will allow reasonably close observation with slow, non threatening movements (stay low and swim on a vaguely convergent path).

Diving logistics: There are many sites where Blue spotted stingrays are present. One place where youre almost guaranteed to see them is in the bay at Racha Yai off the coast of Phuket , Thailand . Most Phuket dive companies run day trips to this site. From the bay swim away from shore until you are in about 40ft of water. Ive seen perhaps 10 in one dive at this site.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

Ive also seen blue spotted stingrays in many other Thai dive sites and throughout Indonesia . One unusual dive site that I found lots of Blue spotted rays was on the sand flats surrounding Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Max depth is about 10ft and visability is generally very low. Tanks can be rented from dive operators on the beaches.

Further reading:

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