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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 There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.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:

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ELASMODIVER EXPANDED

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.

FISH PICTURES

SHORTTAIL STINGRAY

Photograph copyright Andy Murch

View all available shark and ray images in the SHARKIVE

Common Names: Shorttail stingray.

Latin Name: Dasyatis brevicaudata

Family: Dasyatidae

Identification: Rhomboid disc. Anterior disc margins almost straight with rounded tips. Dorsum smooth and dark brown to dark grey with a line of small white spots running down each side of body from level with the eyes towards the tail. Ventrum pale. Tail (usually with two stings) tapers quickly to a short thin whip. Tail shorter than disc with long ventral finfold.

Size: Maximum disc width 2m.

Habitat: Sand and rocky bottoms often near rocky reefs and continental drop offs. Intertidal to 476m. Observed mating in cave systems in New Zealand.

Abundance and distribution: East and South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Reports from Thailand probably refer to the closely related Matsubara's Stingray (Dasyatis matsubarai) from Japan.

Behavior: Moves into shallow water at flood tide to feed. Feeds on bony fishes, bivalves, squid, and crustaceans.

Reproduction: Viviparous. In NZ males have been observed biting and holding onto the much larger females pectoral fin for hours at a time. During actual copulation the male flips upside down under the female and inserts one clasper. He then beats his pectoral fins up and down and in so doing moves his clasper in and out of the females cloaca. During maturation males have been observed nudging the female which may stimulate the birthing process. 

Observations:

Photographs: Roe Reef, Rottnest Island, Western Australia.

Similar species: Matsubara's Stingray (Dasyatis matsubarai) has a very similar appearance including the rows of white spots, but is only known from Japan and possibly Thailand.

Reaction to divers: The shorttail stingray moves away when approached but may ignore divers when concentrating on mating.

Diving logistics: Although I have seen Shorttail rays on almost every dive at Rottnest Island I found these big rays very unapproachable. A far better location to try would be the Poor Knights Marine Reserve off of New Zealand where hundreds of Shorttail stingrays Congregate to mate each summer.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

References and further reading:

Reef Sharks and Rays of the World. Scott W. Michael. Sea Challengers.

Sharks and Rays - Elasmobranch Guide of the World. Ralf M. Hennemann. IKAN.

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