The Blue-spotted stingray, Neotrygon kuhlii (Dasyatis kuhli).
The blue-spotted stingray, aka, blue-spotted maskray or Kuhl’s maskray (Neotrygon kuhlii) was, until relatively recently, known as Dasyatis kuhlii. The scientific name was changed in 2008 following studies looking at the morphology and molecular analysis (Last, P.R. and White, W.T., 2008). The specific name, kuhlii, comes from the German zoologist Heinrich Kuhl who the species is named after.
More recent work by Last, White and Seret (2016) indicates that the blue spotted stingray is actually a complex of several species, each with a more limited distribution across the entire Indo-Pacific range of Neotrygon kuhlii. Around Australia, Papua New Guinea and Eastern Indonesia, the newly separated species has been named Neotrygon australiae; within the Indian Ocean (whwre the above photograph was taken) the new species has been named Neotrygon caeruleopunctata. It will take time for these changes to filter through the scientific literature, and for most of us conducting identification in the field or from photographs many of the differences between these new species will be too subtle, or will require laboratory analysis. So we will either assign names based on the locality where the photograph was taken, or simply use the older name of Neotrygon kuhlii (though technically we should speak of the Neotrygon kuhlii complex).
The blue-spotted stingray can sometimes be confused with the similar looking blue-spotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymna). Both belong to the stingray family, Dasyatidae; both can often be found resting on sandy seabeds and both have yellow-brown colouration marked with distinctive blue spots. On the blue-spotted stingray there are generally fewer blue spots on the wings, and there are also small dark spots, especially around the eyes. The wings of the blue-spotted stingray tend to be more triangular, giving the disc a more diamond shape. The snout comes to a point. The disc of the blue-spotted ribbontail is distinctly more oval, with the front being rounded, not pointed. This is not always easy to discern however, especially when the stingray is partially buried as in the photograph above. The tail is sometimes the quickest way to distinguish. On the blue-spotted ribbontail it is, well, quite ribbon-like, with a fold of skin giving it a vertically flattened shape towards the end. It is also significantly longer than the width of the disc. On the blue-spotted stingray the tail is normally not quite as long, and more tapered, with distinctive black and white banding near the tip. Finally, if you looks closely at the above picture, you can see a darker ‘mask’ around and between the eyes. This colouration give it the alternative name of blue-spotted maskray (there are also other related species of maskray) and helps distinguish it from the blue-spotted ribbontail ray.
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References
Last, P.R. and White, W.T., Resurrection of the genus Neotrygon Castelnau (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) with the description of Neotrygon picta sp. nov., a new species from northern Australia, In: P.R. Last, W.T. White, J.J. Pogonoski (eds.), Descriptions of new Australian chondrichthyans, CSIRO Mar. Atm. Res. Pap. 22, CSIRO, Hobart, 2008, p. 315–325.
Last P.R., White W.T., Séret B. Taxonomic status of maskrays of the Neotrygon kuhlii species complex (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) with the description of three new species from the Indo-West Pacific. Zootaxa. 2016 Feb 23;4083(4):533-61. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4083.4.5. PMID: 27394245. Format: