Hortle's whipray
📖 Overview
Demersal inshore; commonly found over shallow intertidal mud flats and in estuaries in only several metres depth. Viviparous, with histotrophy. Presumably feeds on crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes. Caught regularly, but usually avoided, by beach seine fisheries operating in intertidal habitats. Possibly adversely affected by mangrove loss. Utilized for its meat, and possibly also for its skin and cartilage..
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
Distinguished by the following combination of characters: subcircular disc, very angular anteriorly, length 1.1 times DW; pectoral-fin apices broadly rounded; snout extremely elongate, 11-18 times orbit diameter, 96-99° angle; snout to maximum disc width 52-58% of DW; orbit very small, diameter 0.4-0.5 of spiracle length, 3.8-6.3 times in interorbital distance; mouth not greatly protrusible; prepelvic process not expanded; 1-3 enlarged, flattened, pearl-shaped mid-scapular denticles; denticles of main band in two main sizes in adults, crowns plate-like to heart-shaped; dorsal disc uniformly yellowish, brownish, or greyish; ventral surface of adults usually canary yellow in fresh material, often black around oronasal region and gill slits; pectoral fin radials 135-143; pelvic-fin radials 22-28; total vertebral centra 99-108 .: other.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Hortle's whipray is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
🥚 Reproduction
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Marine; brackish; demersal; depth range 2 - 7 m . Tropical
🌿 Ecology
crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🔍 Similar Species
👥 Community & Contribute
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