Not just Shark Pictures:
Elasmodiver contains photos of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's
from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to
help divers find the best places to encounter different species of
sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project
containing information on all aspects of shark diving and
photography. There are now more than a thousand shark pictures
and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is
a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark
taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site
there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.
Elasmodiver is now so difficult to check for updates, that new
information and pictures are listed
on an Elasmodiver Updates Page that
can be accessed here:
If you're
looking for a broader range of marine life pictures the following
links represent a new area that contains pictures on other marine
organisms and on marine habitats. This expansion of Elasmodiver is
in its first stages but will eventually include pages on everything
from sea stars to nudibranches. Creating this portal will take time
and for now it consists of a token offering of fish pictures. Please
return regularly to enjoy the progress.
Other names:粗尾魟China MainChinese,粗尾魟China MainMandarin Chinese,ΤρυγόναGreeceGreek,ΜούντριζαGreeceGreek,ΜούτρουβαGreeceGreek,ΑκανθοτρυγόναGreeceGreek,AkanthotrygonaGreeceGreek,BrazilPortuguese,Arraia-pregoBrazilPortuguese,BollMaltaMaltese,Boll denbu ahraxMaltaMaltese,Denizkedisi balığıTurkeyTurkish,Escurçana clavelladaSpainCatalan,EssanBeninFon GBE,Gestekelde pijlstaartrogNetherlandsDutch,İğnelivatoz balığıTurkeyTurkish,NeshtelieAlbaniaAlbanian,Ogończa zachodniaPolandPolish,OzouinBeninFon GBE,Pastenague à queue épineuseFranceFrench,Pastenague des îlesFranceFrenchFAO oldPastenague épineuseFranceFrench,PohjankeihäsrauskuFinlandFinnish,Raia-manteigaBrazilPortuguese,Raia-pregoBrazilPortuguese,RatãoAzores Is.Portuguese,Raya látigo lijaSpainSpanish,
Rayalátigo isleñaSpainSpanishFAO, oldRina balığıTurkeyTurkish,
Ruhalet pigrokkeDenmarkDanish, Ruhalet PilrokkeDenmarkDanish,ΣαλάχιGreeceGreek,StechrochenGermanyGerman,TaggspjutrockaSwedenSwedish,TratraBeninPila,TrigoneMaltaItalian,Trigone spinosoItalyItalian,Trnucha hruboocasáCzech RepCzech,Uge de cardasPortugalPortuguese,Uge-de-cardasPortugalPortuguese,UjaCape VerdeCreole, Uje-de-cardasCape VerdePortuguese.
Family: Dasyatidae
Identification:
Rhomboid disc with rounded pectoral tips and straight leading edges. Thorns
scattered on midline of back and prominent thorns along midline and sides of
tail. Tail approx twice body length with deep ventral finfold. Dorsum grey/brown
to olive brown. Ventrum pale.
Size: Maximum
disc width 210cm. Usually 100 to 130cm. At birth 35cm.
Habitat: Sand
and mud bottoms from intertidal to 270m. Inhabits coastal areas, estuaries, and
rivers.
Abundance and distribution:
Eastern Atlantic - Bay of Biscay to Angola and Madeira and Canary Islands. Also
entire Mediterranean. Western Atlantic - Georges Bank to Florida, Gulf of
Mexico, and Uruguay to Southern Brazil. Subtropical; 45°N - 35°S, 90°W -
36°E
Behavior:
Preys on teleost and cartilaginous fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods.
Observations:
I have only seen one specimen in North American waters. This ray is definitely
observed more commonly in its Eastern Atlantic range.
Photographs: Los Gigantes, Tenerife,
Canary Islands, North West Africa.
Similar species: In the western
Atlantic: Southern
stingray, Bluntnose stingray. In the eastern Atlantic: Black Stingray. Black
stingray grows to similar size but lacks the thorns along the tail.
Reaction to divers:
May be approached with non threatening movements.
Diving logistics:
Los Gigantes on Tenerife is the place to encounter this species. Los Gigantes
Dive Centre runs feeds twice weekly that attract up to six species of rays
usually including this one.
Difficult to encounter in North American waters. May be more commonly sighted on
the Carolina wrecks than in Florida. Reports of sightings of this stingray are
welcome.
Other diving locations submitted by readers:
Tim Costikyan wrote:
I spotted two of these(roughtail
Stingrays) off Zachs Beach in
Marthas Vinyard in about 8' of water (july 24 2006).
References:
Fishbase.com
Scott W Michael - Reef Sharks and Rays of the
World.
