English Name: Blotched Fantail Ray
Local Name: Thaara Madi
Size: 2 m
Family: DASYATIDAE
Order: Myliobatiformes
Distinctive Characters: A very large stingray with a sub-circular disc that is very slightly wider than long. Snout short, and obtusely angular/broadly rounded, with a small, protruding apical lobe at tip. Anterior margins of disc convex. Pectoral fin apices broadly rounded. Pelvic fins very short.
Eyes small. Snout length approximately 2x combined eye and spiracle length. Mouth wide with 7 short oral papillae. Lower jaw convex. Labial furrows weak. Skirt-shaped nasal curtain short, wide, short fringe on posterior margin. Nostrils large and oval.
Disc covered in small granular denticles. Thornlets present in small patches on each shoulder and in a thin band along midline. Tail wide-based and short; slightly longer than disc width. Tail tapers to caudal sting then thin to tip. Ventral finfold extends to tip of tail; finfold height 2-3 x tail height posterior to caudal sting. Dorsal finfold absent. One caudal sting usually present.
Colour:Dorsum grey with varying amounts of dark grey and black blotches and mottling. Ventrum pale with a wide, dusky or mottled margin. Tail beyond caudal sting black. Ventral finfold dark.
Habitat and Biology: Tropical seas and warm-temperate seas. On sandy substrates, reef rubble, rocky reefs, and in caves. Usually found inshore with a maximum recorded depth of 400m.
Distribution: Widespread in the Indo-Pacific. South Africa and Madagascar northward along east Africa, Red Sea, Arabian Gulf, India, Maldives and throughout southeast Asia from southern Japan to northern Australia.
Remarks: The Blotched Stingray is a common ray throughout its range. There has been observations of this species in Africa, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, The Philippines, India and Maldives.