Masked Stingaree, Trygonoptera personata Last & Gomon 1987

Masked Stingaree, Trygonoptera personata. Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A yellowish-brown to greyish stingaree with two large dark blotches on the disc, one forming a "mask" around the eyes and the other centred on the disc. The blotches may be connected by thin medial and lateral lines. Juveniles have black dorsal and caudal fins, fading to grey in adults.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2022, Trygonoptera personata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1678

Masked Stingaree, Trygonoptera personata Last & Gomon 1987

More Info

Distribution	Endemic to Western Australia from Geographe Bay in the south, to Shark Bay. Inhabits sandy areas and seagrass beds, commonly in offshore waters at depths to 115 m.
Features	Disc not especially broad, subcircular, mostly wider than long; broadest part slightly more than eye diameter behind level of spiracles; anterior profile obtuse. Snout fleshy, tip not extended. Eye of moderate size (21-28% preocular snout length). Posterior margin of spiracle mostly angular. Mouth small; 3-4 papillae on floor. Internasal flap skirt-shaped, posterior angle not extended into distinct lobe. Posterolateral border of nostril forming a broad flattened, fleshy lobe. Tail slightly depressed to rounded in cross-section; of moderate length (67-86% disc length); lateral cutaneous folds absent; dorsal fin small; caudal fin lanceolate in young, shorter and broader in adults.
Size	Male disc width (DW) 27 cm; female DW 31 cm.
Colour	Ochre to greyish above with two large dark blotches, one forming a "mask" around the eyes, the other centred on the disc; blotches may be connected by thin lines along the midline and either side; ventral surface white, becoming darker at fin margins. Juveniles with black dorsal and caudal fins, becoming grey in adults.
Feeding	Feeds mostly on polychaete worms and crustaceans, but also consumes sipunculid worms, molluscs, and echinoderms.
Biology	Individuals mature at 4 years of age, females at 23 cm TL (total length) and males at 22 cm TL, and may reach 16 years of age. The species is aplacental viviparous, fecundity is low with females usually producing 1-2 pups per litter; size at birth ~ 20 cm TL.
Fisheries	Although taken as bycatch in scallop and prawn fisheries in small parts of its range, individuals are usually released alive.
Similar Species	Readily distinguished from the sympatric congeners, Striped Stingaree, Trygonoptera ovalis and the Western Shovelnose Stingaree, T. mucosa, by colour pattern, disc shape and dorsal-fin size.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin personatus (= masked), in reference to the dark mask-like pattern around the eyes.
Species Citation	Trygonoptera personata Last & Gomon 1987, Mem. Mus. Vict. 48(1): 65, fig. 2. Type locality: Northeast of Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia, 33°01'S, 115°10'E, depth 70 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2022
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Masked Stingaree, Trygonoptera personata Last & Gomon 1987

References

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Last, P.R. & Yearsley, G.K. 2008. Trygonoptera galba sp. nov., a new stingaree (Myliobatoidei: Urolophidae) from southwestern Australia. pp. 269-274 in Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. (eds). Descriptions of new Australian chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper No. 022: 1-358

Last, P.R., Yearsley, G.K. & White, W.T. 2016. Family Urolophidae. pp. 676-705 in Last, P.R., White, W.T., de Carvalho, M.R., Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds) Rays of the World. Clayton South, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 790 pp.

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White, W.T., Hall, N.G. & Potter, I.C. 2002. Reproductive biology and growth during pre- and postnatal life of Trygonoptera personata and T. mucosa (Batoidea: Urolophidae). Marine Biology 140(4): 699-712

Yearsley, G.K. & Last, P.R. 2016. A new genus of stingarees (Myliobatiformes: Urolophidae) with comments on other urolophid genera and an annotated checklist of species. pp. 35-40 in Last, P.R., White, W.T., de Carvalho, M.R., Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds) Rays of the World. Clayton South, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 790 pp.