Spotted shovelnose ray

A Spotted Shovelnose Ray, Aptychotrema timorensis. Source: CSIRO National Fish Collection. License: CC BY Attribution

Valentine’s Day may be over and way past gone, but the loving is still pouring out of us. This week, we are loving on rays! Up first is the spotted shovelnose ray (Aptychotrema timorensis). They are brownish above with the white spots having a dark border.

The small, white-spotted shovelnose ray has a wedge-shaped disc, triangular snout, small eyes, curved mouth it sounds pretty flat shark like until you get to the back… then it’s pretty shark-looking. That’s the funny thing about shovelnose ray—half looking like a ray, half looking like a shark.

Their ventral surface is pale, as well as the tip of their snout. They have two uniformly sized pectoral fins, and a caudal fin with a little lower lobe. #Finfact: the males have very long claspers.
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These rays get up to at least 58 cm in length, with few specimens being caught from the Timor Sea. These individuals were caught off Melville Island, Northern Territory, Australia. Like some rays, their diets and reproductive methods are unknown. The IUCN has been assessed as Vulnerable (VU).

ever heard of this critter?

glossary

• Claspers: Sexual reproduction organs found on male elasmobranchs and chimaeras.
• Disc length (DL): A standard measurement of stingray; disc is slightly longer than it is wide.
• Dorsal side: The top of an animal.
  
• IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
  
• Pectoral fins: Fins located behind the gills on either side. 
  
• Ventral side: Underbelly.

say hello!

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