Taeniura meyeni
Marbled Ray [+]
Description & Behavior
The marbled ray, Taeniura meyeni (Müller and Henle, 1841), aka black-blotched stingray, black-spotted stingray, blotched fantail ray, fantail stingray, giant reef ray, round ribbontail ray, and speckled stingray, is a large stingray with a circular disc, no thorns, a black and white mottled upper surface and a deep and prominent ventral skin fold that extends to the tail tip. More widely known as T. melanospila (Bleeker, 1853), a junior synonym based on the description of a juvenile.
Maximum recorded size of 3.3 m and a maximum weight of 150 kg.
World Range & Habitat
Occurs in a wide range of habitats, from shallow lagoons to outer reef slopes. Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to southern Japan, Micronesia, tropical Australia and Lord Howe Island; Eastern Pacific: known only from oceanic islands (Cocos and the Galapagos) but because of sheer number, individuals may colonize Central America coastlines as well.
Found singly or in aggregates and usually with jacks and cobia swimming near them to depths of up to 500 m.
Feeding Behavior (Ecology)
The marbled ray, Taeniura meyeni, feeds on bottom fish, bivalves, crabs and shrimp.
Life History
The marbled ray is ovoviviparous bearing up to 7 pups in a litter. Distinct pairing with embrace.
Ovoviviparous: eggs are retained within the body of the female in a brood chamber where the embryo develops, receiving nourishment from a yolk sac. This is the method of reproduction for the "live-bearing" fishes where pups hatch from egg capsules inside the mother's uterus and are born soon afterward. Also known as aplacental viviparous.
Conservation Status/Additional Comments
Marbled rays, Taeniura meyeni, are not normally aggressive, but it has been responsible for at least one human fatality. Sought by surf and boat anglers in southern Africa, but usually released unharmed. Longevity record for a specimen in an aquarium is 81 days.
The marbled ray is listed as Vulnerable (VU A2ad+3d+4ad) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
VULNERABLE (VU)
A taxon is Vulnerable when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Vulnerable (see Section V), and it is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
References & Further Research
BioOne ~ CITES ~ Discover Life ~ GBIF ~ Google Scholar ~ ITIS ~ IUCN RedList ~ MarineBio Network ~ NCBI ~ SCIRIS ~ SIRIS ~ Tree of Life Web Project ~ Wikipedia
Search the Web for Marbled Ray » ARKive ~ Ask.com ~ Ask Jeeves ~ bing ~ deviantART ~ dmoz ~ Dogpile ~ Google Images ~ MySpace Images ~ OceanFootage ~ Picsearch ~ StumbleUpon ~ Yahoo! Images ~ YouTube
