Pointed-Nose Stingray

Size

• Maximum length 41 inches (104 cm).

Body Composition

• Spade-like shape, predominantly brownish gray with elongated, thorny tail.

• Diet consists of crustaceans and small fish.

Range

• Occurs in the Indo-Pacific from Southern African to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Widely distributed, but patchy populations.

Habitat

• Found in tropical shallow waters, inshore on sandy substrates commonly at depths below 164 feet (50 m), with a maximum recorded range at 328 feet (100 m).

• Ovoviparous. Eggs develop inside mother’s body and hatch inside. Animals are then born live.

• “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List.
• Southeast Asian population listed as “Vulnerable” due to fishing pressures for valuable skin.

• Other common names include “Jenkins Whipray,” “Brown Stingray,” and “Sharpnose Stingray.”
• Skin is highly valuable due to large thorns on tail.
• Caught with demersal tangle nets, bottom trawl and longline fisheries for its meat, cartilage and skin.
• T.E.D.s and other exclusion devices have greatly reduced bycatch of this species.

• www.fishbase.org
• www.iucnredlist.org