Banded Numbfish, Narcinops westraliensis (McKay 1966)


A Banded Numbfish, Narcinops westraliensis, at Yardie Creek, North West Cape, Western Australia, June 2019. Source: Glen Whisson / iNaturalist.org. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:
A pale numbfish with irregular brown bands and spots across the upper surface of the disc and tail.

Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2022, Narcinops westraliensis in Fishes of Australia, accessed 26 Apr 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3281

Banded Numbfish, Narcinops westraliensis (McKay 1966)

More Info


Distribution

Shark Bay to Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Biology

The maximum recorded size is 29 cm total length (TL), with young born at ~7 cm TL and females maturing at ~18 cm TL.

Remarks

This species was previously known as Narcine westraliensis.

Similar Species

This species had been confused with the Ornate Numbfish, Narcinops ornata, which occurs further north in Western Australia.

Etymology

The species is named westraliensis for Western Australia, the type locality.

Species Citation

Narcine westraliensis McKay 1966, J. Roy. Soc. W. A. 49(3): 73, figs 3, 6. Type locality: 8 miles northwest of Cape Peron, Shark Bay, Western Australia.

Author

Bray, D.J. 2022

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Banded Numbfish, Narcinops westraliensis (McKay 1966)

References


Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. (as Narcine westraliensis)

Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The Marine Fishes of North-Western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Perth, WA : Western Australian Museum vi 201 pp., 70 pls. (as Narcine westraliensis)

Carvalho, M.R. de 2008. New species of numbfishes from Australia, with a key to Australian electric rays of the genus Narcine Henle, 1834 (Chondrichthyes: Torpediniformes: Narcinidae). pp. 241-260 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 (as Narcine westraliensisSee ref online

Carvalho, M.R. de, Compagno, L.J.V. & Last, P.R. 1999. Family Narcinidae. pp. 1433-1446 in Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fisheries Purposes. Rome : FAO Vol. 3 pp. 1397-2068. (as Narcine westraliensis)

Carvalho, M.R. de & Last, P.R. 2016. Family Narcinidae pp. 137-169 in Last, P.R., White, W.T., Carvalho, M.R. de, Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds). Rays of the World. Clayton South, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 790 pp.

Carvalho, M.R. de & Séret, B. 2002. Narcine lasti, a new species of numbfish from Western Australia and Indonesia (Chondrichthyes: Torpediniformes: Narcinidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 20(4): 393-408. (as Narcine westraliensisSee ref online

Last, P.R. & McCord, M. 2015. Narcine westraliensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T161346A68635469. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T161346A68635469.en. Accessed on 11 July 2022.

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. (as Narcine westraliensis)

Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp. (as Narcine westraliensis)

McKay, R.J. 1966. Studies on Western Australian sharks and rays of the families Scyliorhinidae, Urolophidae and Torpedinidae. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 49(3): 65-82 figs 1-6 See ref at BHL

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37028005

Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

Danger:Electric ray

Depth:10-70 m

Habitat:Soft sediment areas

Max Size:29 cm TL

Native:Endemic

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Species Maps

CAAB distribution map