Hortle's Whipray, Pateobatis hortlei (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola 2006)

Summary:

A uniformly yellowish, brownish, or greyish whipray with a white to canary yellow underside, and blackish pigment around the oronasal region and gill slits. Large individuals are yellowish above and below, while juveniles are brownish above.The species has a oval to rounded disc, a very long narrow snout, small eyes, and a narrow-based tail that is circular in cross-section.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2021, Pateobatis hortlei in Fishes of Australia, accessed 03 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/5512

Hortle's Whipray, Pateobatis hortlei (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola 2006)

More Info

Distribution	Kimberley Region, Western Australia to the Northern Territory. Elsewhere the species occurs in Papua New Guinea and West Papua, Indonesia. Commonly inhabits shallow intertidal mud and sand flats, usually near river mouths and estuaries.
Features	Disc subcircular, very angular anteriorly, length 1.1 times DW; pectoral-fin apices broadly rounded; snout extremely elongate, 11-18 times orbit diameter, 96-99° angle; snout to maximum disc width 52-58% of DW; orbit very small, diameter 0.4-0.5 of spiracle length, 3.8-6.3 times in interorbital distance; mouth not greatly protrusible; prepelvic process not expanded; 1-3 enlarged, flattened, pearl-shaped mid-scapular denticles; denticles of main band in two main sizes in adults, crowns plate-like to heart-shaped; pectoral fin radials 135-143; pelvic-fin radials 22-28; total vertebral centra 99-108
Feeding	Feeds on crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes.
Biology	Viviparous (egg layer), with histotrophy. Females mature at ~100 cm DW; pups are born at 16-20 cm DW.
Fisheries	Caught regularly, but usually avoided, by beach seine fisheries operating in intertidal habitats in New Guinea. Utilized for its meat, and possibly also for its skin and cartilage.
Similar Species	This species differs from other plain-coloured stingrays in having a very long snout and small eyes (vs. the snout much shorter and eyes larger).
Etymology	The species is named in honour of Kent Hortle, who supplied the first photographs of the species and later collected fresh specimens for the type series from southern Irian Jaya.
Species Citation	Himantura hortlei Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola 2006, Zootaxa 1239: 22, figs. 1-7. Type locality: Minajerwi River estuary, Irian Jaya, 4°56'S, 137°03'E, depth 7 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2021
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Hortle's Whipray, Pateobatis hortlei (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola 2006)

References

Last, P.R., Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M. & Kailola, P.J. 2006. Himantura hortlei n. sp., a new species of whipray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Zootaxa 1239: 19-34 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1239.1.2

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., 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., White, W.T. & Naylor, G. 2016. Three new stingrays (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the Indo-West Pacific. Zootaxa 4147(4): 377–402

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 (ACIAR) Monograph Series 189: 1-327 See ref online

White, W.T., Last, P.R., Stevens, J.D., Yearsley, G.K., Fahmi & Dharmadi. 2006. Economically important sharks and rays Indonesia. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) Monograph Series 124: 1-329 See ref online

White, W.T., Manjaji Matsumoto, B.M. & Fahmi 2016. Pateobatis hortlei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T161598A104225574. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T161598A104225574.en. Downloaded on 18 September 2019.