Southern fiddler ray

2/21/2017

The southern fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina dumerilii) is a medium sized shovelnose ray with an oval disc. Their nostrils are partly covered by a fleshy flap. Their skin is covered with a pattern of dark edged bands, with their upper side being yellowish brown in color with dark grey bands across its back. Their ventral surface is pale, like many Chondrichthyans.

Born at a rather small size (measuring 21-25 cm), the adults can get up to 146 cm in length. Males are known to mature at 70 cm while females mature at a much larger 89 cm. These rays can be seen off Southern Australian waters, including Tasmania. Here, they even a diverse diet of crustaceans, fish, polychaetes, and molluscs.

The southern fiddler rays are viviparous, giving birth to 2-5 pups from April to May after a 12 month gestation. They are common bycatch in Australian trawls, and the IUCN has listed them as Least Concern (LC).

ever heard of this ray?

glossary

Bycatch: The part of a fishery’s catch that is made up of non-target species.
Crustaceans: Group of animals with a hard exoskeleton, jointed legs and segmented body.
Dorsal side: The top of an animal.
IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Molluscs: The largest marine phylum; invertebrate animals, many of which have shells.
Pectoral fins: Fins located behind the gills on either side.
Polychaete worms: Multi-segmented worms living in all environments in the world's oceans.
Pup: Give birth to baby sharks (pups).
Pups: Baby sharks.
Ventral side: Underbelly.

Viviparous: Eggs hatch inside the female's body and the babies are fed by a placenta which transfers nourishment from the mother to the babies (via an umbilical cord which is connected to the baby shark between the pectoral fins).