Blotched Fantail Ray, Taeniurops meyeni Müller & Henle 1841
A Blotched Fantail Ray, Taeniurops meyeni, in Beqa Lagoon, Fiji. Source: Nick Hobgood / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
A large almost circular stingray with a distinctive light and dark mottled pattern on the upperside, and a prominent deep ventral skin fold that extends to the tip of the black tail.
The venomous spines on the tail of the Blotched Fantail Ray species can cause a severe and painful injury. The species is responsible for at least one human fatality (Steve Irwin) due to a stab wound from the serrated spines on the tail. While not usually aggressive, Blotched Fantail Rays should be treated with respect and great caution.
Great video of a Blotched Fantail Ray on the Gold coast Seaway - filmed by Ian Banks.
Blotched Fantail Ray, Taeniurops meyeni Müller & Henle 1841
More Info
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Distribution |
Recorded in Australia from Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, to at least South West Rocks, New South Wales, including some reefs in the Coral Sea; also at Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean, and Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea. The species is widespread on the Great Barrier Reef. Elsewhere, the Blotched Fantail Ray occurs in the tropical Indo-Pacific (east to Galapagos Islands). Inhabits sandy and rubble areas around coral reefs and coastal waters from the surf zone to deeper offshore waters. |
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Colour |
Blackish to grey above with white blotches and spots; disc margin and underside white. |
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Feeding |
Feeds on benthic fishes and invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps and bivalve molluscs. |
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Biology |
Reproductive mode - aplacental viviparous, meaning that the embryos are initially sustained by yolk, then by a special "uterine milk" called histotroph. Females give birth to small litters of up to 7 pups that measure on average 35 cm DW and 67 cm TL when born. Little else is known of the biology of this species. When threatened, the Blotched Fantail Ray raises its tail over its back with the spine facing forward. |
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Fisheries |
Taken as bycatch (and discarded) in commercial fishing operations in northern Australia. The mandatory use of turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) in Australia may limit catches. |
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Remarks |
The Blotched Fantail Ray was previously referred to as Taeniura meyeni in Australia. |
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Similar Species |
Often confused with the Cowtail Stingray, Pastinachus atrus which is uniform in colour, has a slightly pointed snout, the disc wider than long with a dense band of blunt denticles over the centre. |
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Species Citation |
Taeniura meyeni Müller & Henle, 1841, System. Beschreib. Plagiost.: 172, pl. 55. Type locality: Mauritius. |
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Author |
Bray, D.J. 2019 |
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Resources |
Blotched Fantail Ray, Taeniurops meyeni Müller & Henle 1841
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls. (as Taeniura meyeni)
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2012. Reef fishes of the East Indies. Perth : Tropical Reef Research 3 vols, 1260 pp. (as Taeniura meyeni)
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 Taeniura melanospilos)
Bleeker, P. 1853. Diagnostische beschrijvingen van nieuwe of weinig bekende vischsoorten van Batavia. Tiental I–VI. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië 4: 451-516 (as Taeniura melanospilos) See ref at BHL
Brewer, D., Heales, D., Milton, D., Dell, Q., Fry, G., Venables, B. & Jones, P. 2006. The impact of turtle excluder devices and bycatch reduction devices on diverse tropical marine communities in Australia's northern prawn trawl fishery. Fisheries Research 81: 176-188.
Coleman, N. 1981. Australian Sea Fishes North of 30°S. Lane Cove, NSW : Doubleday Australia Pty Ltd 297 pp. (as Taeniura melanospilos)
Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 (as Taeniura meyeni)
Hobbs, J.-P.A., Ayling, A.M., Choat, J.H., Gilligan, J.J., McDonald, C.A., Neilson, J. & Newman, S.J. 2010. New records of marine fishes illustrate the biogeographic importance of Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Zootaxa 2422: 63–68 (as Taeniura meyeni)
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) (as Taeniura meyeni)
Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. A comprehensive reference for divers and fishermen. Sydney, NSW, Australia : New Holland Publishers xvii, 434 pp. (as Taeniura meyeni)
Kyne, P.M. & White, W.T. 2015. Taeniurops meyeni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T60162A68646736. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T60162A68646736.en. Downloaded on 11 August 2019.
Larson, H.K., Williams, R.S. & Hammer, M.P. 2013. An annotated checklist of the fishes of the Northern Territory, Australia. Zootaxa 3696(1): 1-293 (as Taeniura meyeni)
Last, P.R. & Compagno, L.J.V. 1999. Family Dasyatidae. pp. 1479-1505 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 Taeniura meyeni)
Last, P.R., Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M., Naylor, G.J.P. & White, W.T. 2016. Dasyatidae. pp. 522-618 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.
Last, P.R., Naylor, G.J.P. & Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M. 2016. A revised classification of the family Dasyatidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) based on new morphological and molecular insights. Zootaxa 4139(3): 345-368
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls. (as Taeniura meyeni)
Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.
Macleay, W.J. 1883. Notes on a collection of fishes from the Burdekin and Mary Rivers, Queensland. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 1 8(2): 199-213. (as Taeniura mortoni) See ref at BHL
Müller, J. & Henle, F.G.J. 1841. Systematische Beschreibung der Plagiostomen. Berlin : Veit & Co. pp. 103-200 pls. See ref at BHL
Randall, J.E. 2005. Reef and Shore Fishes of the South Pacific: New Caledonia to Tahiti and the Pitcairn Islands. University of Hawai’i Press. 584 pp.
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1990. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 507 pp. figs. (as Taeniura melanospila)
Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & Steene, R. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 557 pp. figs.
Stobutzki, I.C., Miller, M.J., Heales, D.S. & Brewer, D.T. 2002. Sustainability of elasmobranches caught as bycatch in a tropical prawn (shrimp) trawl fishery. Fishery Bulletin 100: 800-821.
White, W.T., Baje, L., Sabub, B., Appleyard, S.A., Pogonoski, J.J. & Mana, R.R. 2017. Sharks and Rays of Papua New Guinea. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research Monograph Series 189: 1-327
Whitley, G.P. 1931. Studies in Ichthyology No. 4. Records of the Australian Museum 18(3): 96-133 figs 1-2 pls 11-16
Whitley, G.P. 1940. The Fishes of Australia. Part 1. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney : Roy. Zool. Soc. N.S.W. 280 pp. 303 figs.
