The Ningaloo maskray (Neotrygon ningalooensis) is a
pectoral fin
disc with a blunt snout and rounded outer corners. Its tail is whip-like with both upper and lower fin folds. This species has a distinctive dorsal color pattern consisting of numerous small, sharp-edged deep orange spots and slightly larger, fuzzy-edged pale blue spots on a yellowish brown background.
Inhabiting
habitat degradation
.
Taxonomy and phylogeny
The first known sighting of the Ningaloo maskray was during a study of
type specimens are two adult males, one 30 cm (12 in) and the other 29 cm (11 in) across, both collected from Five Fingers Reef near Coral Bay, Western Australia.[3]
pectoral fin disc about 1.1 times wider than long, with straight to slightly convex leading margins and rounded outer corners. The snout is short and rounded. The eyes are large and protruding, with large crescent-shaped spiracles behind. Between the slender nostrils is a curtain-shaped flap of skin with a deeply fringed rear margin that is divided into two lobes. The small mouth has shallow grooves at the corners and is surrounded by papillae; there are also two long papillae on the floor of the mouth. The teeth range from long and pointed to short and blunt. There are five pairs of S-shaped gill slits. The pelvic fins are narrow and triangular.[3]
The whip-like tail bears two very slender stinging spines on the upper surface; it is fairly broad and flattened at the base and tapers evenly past the stings. Behind the stings are well-developed dorsal and ventral fin folds; the dorsal fold is smaller than the ventral fold, which is deep and short relative to the tail's total length. The only
dermal denticles are four or five small, closely spaced thorns in a midline row behind the spiracles. The upper surface of the disc is yellowish brown, deepening in color towards the margins, with numerous dark orange and light blue spots; the orange spots are smaller, more sharply defined, and densest at the center of the disc, whereas the blue spots are larger, less well defined, and evenly distributed over the disc. There is a darker mask-like marking across the eyes as in other Neotrygon species, though it may be hard to discern. The tail has alternating black and white bands behind the stings. The underside is pale. This species reaches a disc width of 30 cm (12 in).[3]
Distribution and habitat
The protruding eyes of the Ningaloo maskray allow it to see while deeply buried.
^ abcdeLast, P.R.; White, W.T.; Puckridge , M. (2010). "Neotrygon ningalooensis n. sp. (Myliobatoidei, Dasyatidae), a new maskray from Australia". Aqua: International Journal of Ichthyology. 16 (2): 37–50.
