Porcupine Ray, Urogymnus asperrimus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

Other Names: Roughskin Stingaree, Rough-skinned Ray, Solanders Ray, Solander's Ray, Thorny Ray

A Porcupine Ray, Urogymnus asperrimus, in the Seychelles. Source: Olivier Cochard-Labbé / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY Attribution-ShareAlike

Summary:

A distinctive but uncommon stingray named for its protective covering of thorns and denticles. The Porcupine Ray has a thick oval-shaped body with a rounded snout and a long-whip-like tail. Unlike other stingrays in the family Dasyatidae, there is no venomous barb on the tail.

Ranges in colour from light grey to brown above, whitish below, with a blackish tail that is darker near the tip.

Video of a Porcupine Ray in the Maldives.

A Porcupine Ray in the Red Sea at Marsa Alam, Egypt.

Courtship behaviour of Porcupine Rays

See extra images and video footage of Porcupine rays on the Archive site.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2017, Urogymnus asperrimus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 19 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/2031

Porcupine Ray, Urogymnus asperrimus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

More Info

Distribution	Known in Australian waters from Ningaloo Reef (Western Australia) to Heron Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland. Elsewhere, the species is widely distributed, although uncommon, in tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific and possibly also in the eastern Atlantic. The Porcupine ray inhabits coral reefs, preferring sandy, coral rubble and seagrass areas, and is often seen near caves and overhangs; also near mangroves, in depths to at least 30 m.
Size	Grows to a length of 147 cm, and a disc width of 100 cm.
Feeding	Feeds mostly on benthic invertebrates and bony fishes.
Biology	The species is aplacental viviparous - the developing embryos are nourished by histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother.
Fisheries	Taken as incidental bycatch in trawl nets, tangle nets, and beach seines throughout its range. Although occasionally taken in northern Australian trawl fisheries, turtle exclusion devices on trawl nets appear to exclude the Porcupine Ray from capture.
Conservation	IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
Species Citation	Raja asperrima Bloch & Schneider, 1801, Systema Ichthyologiae Iconibus ex Illustratum: 367. Type locality: Indian seas off Bombay.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2017
Resources	Australian Faunal Directory

Porcupine Ray, Urogymnus asperrimus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)

References

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