mitotic stingaree

Source: Australian National Fish Collection, CSIRO.

Also known as the Blotched stingaree, the Mitotic stingaree (Urolophus mitosis) is endemic to Western Australia. In fact, it is only known from off Port Hedland! Clearly it is very restricted. This green-red (hard to see in the picture, I know) stingaree has large, pale blue blotches on its disc that truly seem to have no pattern. May be good for an ID project, someone!

And you know what we can easily ID? That venomous barb at the end of its fleshy tail. Ye-ouch! Found at about 200 metres deep near the continental shelf break, they probably like soft substrates. What do they eat? What's their reproduction like? What are population numbers looking like? Well, all of that and more we don't know and can only guess. However, with the fisheries in the area usually being >300 metres, the IUCN believes this animal is of Least Concern (LC).

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT THIS ANIMAL?

GLOSSARY

• Disc length (DL): A standard measurement of stingray; disc is slightly longer than it is wide.
• Endemic: Native to a specific region or environment and not occurring naturally anywhere else.
• IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.​

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