Bluespotted ribbontail ray

How do you identify a bluespotted ribbontail ray?

The bluespotted ribbontail ray, also called the bluespotted stingray, is a small ray whose oval, regular pectoral disc is no more than 35 centimeters across. The large eyes bulge, and the short, thick tail has a fin fold. It is impossible to mistake: many electric blue spots cover a yellowish background, and the tail is marked with two blue stripes. It is one of the most photographed rays in the Red Sea.

How does the bluespotted ribbontail ray live?

It frequents coastal habitats and the edges of coral reefs in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific, from the intertidal zone down to 30 meters. On the rising tide, it joins others of its kind and hunts in small groups on the sand flats, for bottom-dwelling invertebrates and small fish. As the tide falls, it leaves the group and retreats to shelter under the reef. It is ovoviviparous, with up to seven pups per litter. Its tail carries venomous spines that can inflict a painful sting, but it flees as soon as it feels threatened. Its beauty makes it a target for the aquarium trade, even though it copes poorly with captivity, and reef degradation weighs on its populations.

Where and when can you see bluespotted ribbontail rays?

The bluespotted ribbontail ray lives wherever there is sand at the foot of a reef. In the Red Sea, look for it on the sand at the foot of the Giannis D wreck, at Abu Nuhas. It also rests on the plateaus of the Giftun Islands and Panorama Reef, and on the Yolanda plateau at Ras Mohammed. You will also find it in the sandy bays of southern Egypt. By day, look for the tail sticking out from under a table coral or from a crack in the reef.

In the Indian Ocean, in Tanzania, it stays on the sand between coral heads, at Misali and Kinasi Pass. At Mnemba, you will see it on the sand, under the coral overhangs.

In Indonesia, it rests on the black sand of the Lembeh Strait and on the sandy slopes of Bunaken. In Bali, it lies under the boulders at the bottom of Crystal Bay. At each of these sites, it is there all year round: the season doesn't matter.

How should you approach a bluespotted ribbontail ray?

Approach it slowly, from the front, without cornering it in its hiding place, and never put a hand or a knee on the sand near its tail: the sting, though rare, is very painful. A flash or a cast shadow sends it darting off; stillness and patience bring it back out.