Bluespotted ribbontail ray

File:Blue spotted ray komodo.jpg

The bluespotted ribbontail ray was originally described as Raja lymma by Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål, in his 1775 Descriptiones Animalium quae in itinere ad maris australis terras per annos 1772, 1773, et 1774 suscepto collegit, observavit, et delineavit Joannes Reinlioldus Forster, etc., curante Henrico Lichtenstein.{{Cof record|spid=7277 |title=lymma, Raja|date=January 15, 2010|access-date=February 17, 2010}} The specific epithet lymma means "dirt".{{cite book |title=A Guide to the Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/guidetocommonsea00elst |url-access=limited |author=Van der Elst, R. |edition=third |publisher=Struik |year=1993 |isbn=978-1-86825-394-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/guidetocommonsea00elst/page/n51 52]}} Forsskål did not designate a type specimen. In 1837, German biologists Johannes Peter Müller and Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle created the genus Taeniura for Trygon ornatus, now known to be a junior synonym of this species.{{Cof record|genid=1428 |title=Taeniura|date=January 15, 2010 |access-date=February 17, 2010}}

Other common names used for this species include bluespotted ray, bluespotted fantail ray, bluespotted lagoon ray, bluespotted stingray, fantail ray, lesser fantail ray, lagoon ray, reef ray, ribbon-tailed stingray, and ribbontail stingray.{{FishBase |genus=Taeniura |species=lymma |month=November |year=2009}} Morphological examination has suggested that the bluespotted ribbontail ray is more closely related to the amphi-American Himantura (H. pacifica and H. schmardae) and the river stingrays (Potamotrygonidae) than to the congeneric blotched fantail ray (T. meyeni), which is closer to Dasyatis and Indo-Pacific Himantura.{{cite journal |author=Lovejoy, N.R. |title=Systematics of myliobatoid elasmobranchs: with emphasis on the phylogeny and historical biogeography of neotropical freshwater stingrays (Potamotrygonidae: Rajiformes) |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |year=1996 |volume=117 |pages=207–257 |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1996.tb02189.x |issue=3 |doi-access=free }}

Widespread in the nearshore waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific region, the bluespotted ribbontail ray has a range that extends around the periphery of the Indian Ocean from South Africa to the Arabian Peninsula to Southeast Asia, including Madagascar, Mauritius, Zanzibar, the Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. It is rare in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.{{cite book |title=Coastal Fishes of Oman |author1=Randall, J.E. |author2=J.P. Hoover |name-list-style=amp |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-8248-1808-1 |page=47}} In the Pacific Ocean, this species is found from the Philippines to northern Australia, as well as around numerous Melanesian and Polynesian islands as far east as the Solomon Islands. Rarely found deeper than {{cvt|30|m|ft|-1}}, the bluespotted ribbontail ray is a bottom-dwelling species that frequents coral reefs and adjacent sandy flats. It is also commonly encountered in the intertidal zone and tidal pools, and has been sighted near seagrass beds.{{cite book |author1=Ferrari, A. |author2=A. Ferrari |name-list-style=amp |title=Sharks |url=https://archive.org/details/sharks0000ferr |url-access=registration |publisher=Firefly Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-55209-629-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sharks0000ferr/page/214 214–215]}} Every summer, considerable numbers of bluespotted ribbontail rays arrive off South Africa.

File:Taeniura lymma leyte.jpg

The pectoral fin disc of the bluespotted ribbontail ray is oval in shape, around four-fifths as wide as long, with a rounded to broadly angular snout. The large, protruding eyes are immediately followed by the broad spiracles. There is a narrow flap of skin between the nares with a fringed posterior margin, reaching past the mouth. The lower jaw dips at the middle and deep furrows are present at the mouth corners. There are 15–24 tooth rows in either jaw, arranged into pavement-like plates, and two large papillae on the floor of the mouth.{{cite book |editor=Carpenter, K.E. |editor2=V.H. Niem |title=The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific |volume=3 |place=Rome |publisher=Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations |year=1999 |isbn=978-92-5-104302-8 |chapter=Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae |author1=Last, P.R. |author2=L.J.V. Compagno |name-list-style=amp |pages=1479–1505}} The pelvic fins are narrow and angular. The thick, depressed tail measures about 1.5 times the disc length and bears one or two (usually two) serrated spines well behind the tail base; there is a deep fin fold on the ventral surface, reaching the tip of the tail, and a low midline ridge on the upper surface.

The skin is generally smooth, save for perhaps a scattering of small thorns on the middle of the back. The dorsal coloration is striking, consisting of numerous circular, neon blue spots on a yellowish brown or green background; the spots vary in size, becoming smaller and denser towards the disc margin. The tail has two stripes of the same blue running along each side as far as the spines. The eyes are bright yellow and the belly is white. Individuals found off southern Africa may lack the blue tail stripes. The bluespotted ribbontail ray grows to {{cvt|35|cm|in}} across, {{cvt|80|cm|in}} long, and {{cvt|5|kg|lb}}.{{cite book |title=A Photographic Guide to Sea Fishes of Southern Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/photographicguid00elst |url-access=limited |author1=Van Der Elst R. |author2= D. King |publisher=Struik |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-77007-345-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/photographicguid00elst/page/n15 17]}}

File:Taeniura lymma egypt.jpg

One of the most abundant stingrays inhabiting Indo-Pacific reefs, the bluespotted ribbontail ray generally spends the day hidden alone inside caves or under coral ledges or other debris (including from shipwrecks), often with only its tail showing. At night, small groups assemble and swim onto shallow sandy flats with the rising tide to feed. Unlike many other stingrays, this species seldom buries itself in sand.{{cite web|author=Bester, C. |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Bluespottedrtray/bluespottedrtray.html|title=Biological Profiles: Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104223121/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Bluespottedrtray/bluespottedrtray.html |archive-date=2016-01-04 |publisher=Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department|access-date=November 13, 2009}} The bluespotted ribbontail ray excavates sand pits in search of molluscs, polychaete worms, shrimps, crabs, and small benthic bony fishes; when prey is located, it is trapped by the body of the ray and maneuvered into the mouth with the disc. Other fishes, such as goatfish, frequently follow foraging rays, seeking food missed by the ray.{{cite book |title=Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa |url=https://archive.org/details/coastalfishessou00heem |url-access=limited |author1=Heemstra, P. |author2=E. Heemstra |name-list-style=amp |publisher=NISC and SAIAB |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-920033-01-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/coastalfishessou00heem/page/n109 84]}}{{cite web|author=Miller, J. |year=2002 |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Taeniura_lymma/ |title=Taeniura lymma |website=Animal Diversity Web|access-date=November 13, 2009}}

Breeding in the bluespotted ribbontail ray occurs from late spring to summer; the male follows the female and nips at her disc, eventually biting and holding onto her for copulation. There is also a documented instance of a male holding onto the disc of a smaller male bluespotted stingray (Neotrygon kuhlii), in a possible case of mistaken identity. Adult males have been observed gathering in shallow water, which may relate to reproduction.{{rp|88}} Like other stingrays, this species is aplacental viviparous: the embryos are initially sustained by yolk, which later in development is supplemented by histotroph ("uterine milk", containing mucus, fat, and proteins) produced by the mother. The gestation period is uncertain, but is thought to be between four and twelve months long. Females bear litters of up to seven young, each a miniature version of the adult measuring around {{cvt|13|-|14|cm|in}} across.{{cite book |author1=Last, P.R. |author2=J.D. Stevens |name-list-style=amp |year=2009 |title=Sharks and Rays of Australia |edition=second |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=459–460 |isbn=978-0-674-03411-2}} Males attain sexual maturity at a disc width of {{cvt|20|-|21|cm|in}}; the maturation size of females is unknown.

Known predators of the bluespotted ribbontail ray include hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna) and bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops); it is also potentially preyed upon by other large fishes and marine mammals.{{cite book |title=The Biology of Traditions: Models and Evidence |editor=Fragaszy, D.M. |editor2=S. Perry |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-521-81597-0 |author1=Mann, J. |author2=B. Sargeant |name-list-style=amp |chapter=Like mother, like calf: the ontogeny of foraging traditions in wild Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.)}} When threatened, this ray tends to flee at high speed in a zigzag pattern, to throw off pursuers. Numerous parasites have been identified from this species: the tapeworms Aberrapex manjajiae,{{cite journal |author=Jensen, K. |title=A new species of Aberrapex Jensen, 2001 (Cestoda: Lecanicephalidea) from Taeniura lymma (Forsskal) (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from off Sabah, Malaysia |journal=Systematic Parasitology |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=117–123 |date=June 2006 |doi=10.1007/s11230-005-9026-2 |pmid=16612652|s2cid=28791035 }} Anthobothrium taeniuri,{{cite journal |author=Saoud, M.F.A. |title=On a new cestode, Anthobothrium taeniuri n. sp. (Tetraphyllidea) from the Red Sea Sting Ray and the relationship between Anthobothrium van Beneden, 1850, Rhodobothrium Linton, 1889 and Inermiphyllidium Riser, 1955 |journal=Journal of Helminthology |volume=37 |issue=1–2 |pages=135–144 |year=1963 |doi=10.1017/S0022149X00019696 |pmid=13976441|s2cid=43767236 }} Cephalobothrium taeniurai,{{cite journal |author=Ramadan, M.M. |title=Cestodes of the genus Cephalobothrium Shipley and Hornel, 1906 (Lecanicephaliidae), with description of C. ghardagense n. sp. and C. taeniurai n. sp. from the Red Sea fishes |journal=Japanese Journal of Parasitology |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=11–15 |year=1986}} Echinobothrium elegans and E. helmymohamedi,{{cite journal |author=Tyler, G.A. (II) |title=Tapeworms of elasmobranchs (part II) a monograph on the Diphyllidea (Platyhelminthes, Cestoda) |journal=Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum |volume=20 |pages=i–viii, 1–142 |year=2006}}{{cite journal |author=Saoud, M.F.A. |author2=M.M. Ramadan |author3=S.I. Hassan |name-list-style=amp |title=On Echinobothrium helmymohamedi n. sp. (Cestoda: Diphyllidea): a parasite of the sting ray Taeniura lymma from the Red Sea |journal=Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=199–207 |year=1982 |pmid=7086222}} Kotorelliella jonesi,{{cite journal |author1=Palm, H.W. |author2=I. Beveridge |name-list-style=amp |title=Tentaculariid cestodes of the order Trypanorhyncha (Platyhelminthes) from the Australian region |journal=Records of the South Australian Museum |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=49–78 |date=May 2002}} Polypocephalus saoudi,{{cite journal |author=Hassan, S.H. |journal=Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology |date=December 1982 |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=395–401 |title=Polypocephalus saoudi n. sp. Lecanicephalidean cestode from Taeniura lymma in the Red Sea |pmid=7153551}} and Rhinebothrium ghardaguensis and R. taeniuri,{{cite journal |author=Ramadan, M.M. |title=A review of the cestode genus Rhinebothrium Linton, 1889 (Tetraphyllidae), with a description of two new species of the sting ray Taeniura lymma from the Red Sea |journal=Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=85–94 |year=1984 |pmid=6736718}} the monogeneans Decacotyle lymmae,{{cite journal |author=Cribb, B.W. |last2=Whittington |first2=Ian D. |title=Anterior adhesive areas and adjacent secretions in the parasitic flatworms Decacotyle lymmae and D. tetrakordyle (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the gills of stingrays |journal=Invertebrate Biology |volume=123 |issue=1 |pages=68–77 |year=2004 |url=http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/1807 |doi=10.1111/j.1744-7410.2004.tb00142.x}} Empruthotrema quindecima,{{cite journal |author1=Chisholm, L.A. |author2=I.D. Whittington |name-list-style=amp |title=Empruthotrema quindecima sp. n. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the nasal fossae of Taeniura lymma (Dasyatididae) from Heron Island and Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia |journal=Folia Parasitologica |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=274–278 |year=1999 |url=http://www.paru.cas.cz/folia/pdfs/showpdf.php?pdf=20618}} Entobdella australis,{{cite journal |author1=Whittington, I.D. |author2=B.W. Cribb |name-list-style=amp |title=Glands associated with the anterior adhesive areas of the monogeneans, Entobdella sp. and Entobdella australis (Capsalidae) from the skin of Himantura fai and Taeniura lymma (Dasyatididae) |journal=International Journal for Parasitology |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=653–665 |date=April 1998 |doi=10.1016/S0020-7519(98)00016-2 |pmid=9602390}} and Pseudohexabothrium taeniurae,{{cite journal |author=Agrawal, N. |author2=L.A. Chisholm |author3=I.D. Whittington |name-list-style=amp |title=Pseudohexabothrium taeniurae n. sp. (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae) from the gills of Taeniura lymma (Dasyatididae) from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=131–136 |date=February 1996 |jstor=3284128 |journal=The Journal of Parasitology |doi=10.2307/3284128 |pmid=8627482 }} the flatworms Pedunculacetabulum ghardaguensis and Anaporrhutum albidum,{{cite journal |author1=Saoud, M.F.A. |author2=M.M. Ramadan |name-list-style=amp |title=Two trematodes of genus Pedunculacetabulum Yamaguti, 1934 from Red Sea fishes |journal=Journal of the Egyptian Society of Parasitology |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=321–328 |year=1984 |pmid=6512282}}{{cite journal |author=Razarihelisoa, M. |title=Sur quelques trematodes digenes de poissons de Nossibe (Madagascar) |journal=Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France |volume=84 |pages=421–434 |year=1959}} the nematode Mawsonascaris australis,{{cite journal |author=Sprent, J.F.A. |title=Some ascaridoid nematodes of fishes: Paranisakis and Mawsonascaris n. g |journal=Systematic Parasitology |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=41–63 |year=1990 |doi=10.1007/bf00009917|s2cid=27528485 }} the copepod Sheina orri,{{cite journal |author=Kornicker, L.S. |title=Redescription of Sheina orri Harding, 1966, a myodocopid ostracode collected on fishes off Queensland, Australia |journal=Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=639–646 |year=1986}} and the protozoan Trypanosoma taeniurae.{{cite journal |author=Burreson, E.M. |title=Haematozoa of fishes from Heron I., Australia, with the description of two new species of Trypanosoma |journal=Australian Journal of Zoology |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=15–23 |year=1989 |doi=10.1071/ZO9890015}} This ray has been observed soliciting cleanings from the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) by raising the margins of its disc and pelvic fins.

File:TheDeepRay.jpg; the lump on its back indicates that it is pregnant|A pregnant bluespotted ribbontail ray at The Deep.]]

While timid and innocuous towards humans, the bluespotted ribbontail ray is capable of inflicting an excruciating wound with its venomous tail spines. Its attractive appearance and relatively small size has resulted in its being the most common stingray found in the home aquarium trade.{{cite book |title=Dr. Burgess's Atlas of Marine Aquarium Fishes |author=Burgess, W.E. |author2=H.R. Axelrod |author3=R.E. Hunziker |name-list-style=amp |edition=third |publisher=T.F.H. Publications |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7938-0575-4 |page=676}} It seldom fares well in captivity and few hobbyists are able to maintain one for long. Many specimens refuse to feed in the aquarium, and seemingly healthy individuals often inexplicably die or stop feeding.{{cite book |author=Michael, S.W. |year=1993 |title=Reef Sharks and Rays of the World – A Guide To Their Identification, Behavior and Ecology |publisher=Sea Challengers |page=107 |isbn=978-0-930118-18-1}} A higher degree of success has been achieved by public aquariums and a breeding project is maintained by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (for example, a total of 15 pups were born at Lisbon Oceanarium from 2011 to 2013).{{Citation | last = Ferreira | first = A.S. | title = Breeding and juvenile growth of the ribbontail stingray Taeniura lymma at Oceanário de Lisboa | publisher = University of Lisbon | year = 2013 | url = http://repositorio.ul.pt/bitstream/10451/10302/1/ULFC103164_tm_ana_ferreira.pdf }} The bluespotted ribbontail ray is utilized as food in East Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia; it is captured intentionally or incidentally using gillnets, longlines, spears, and fence traps.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the bluespotted ribbontail ray as Least Concern. Although relatively common and widely distributed, this species faces continuing degradation of its coral reef habitat throughout its range, from development and destructive fishing practices using cyanide or dynamite. Its populations are under heavy pressure by artisanal and commercial fisheries, and by local collecting for the aquarium trade.

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160104223121/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/Bluespottedrtray/bluespottedrtray.html "Biological Profiles: Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray" at Florida Museum of Natural History]
• [http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/2030 Fishes of Australia : Taeniura lymma]
• {{SealifePhotos|217422}}

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bluespotted ribbontail ray

bluespotted ribbontail ray