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 There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly outdated shark taxonomy page, a monster list of shark links, and deeper in the site there are numerous articles and stories about shark encounters.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

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BLUE SPOTTED STINGRAY

Photograph copyright Andy Murch

Enlarged image      More Blue spotted stingray photographs

View all available Blue Spotted Stingray Pictures in the Shark Pictures Database

Common Names: Blue spotted stingray, Kuhl’s stingray  

Latin Name: Dasyatis Kuhlii  

Family: Dasyatidae  

Identification: Rhomboid disc, Anterior and posterior margins of disc mildly convex. Rostrum grey or tan with blue (occasionally white) spots about eye size and smaller black spots. Tail about 2 times body length. End of tail banded with black and white.  

Size: Max disc width 50cm  

Habitat: Sandy bottoms often adjacent to reefs. Prefers deeper areas but may be seen in shallow lagoons.  

Abundance and distribution: Common in sandy bays in South East Asia . Widespread throughout the Indo Pacific from the Red Sea to Japan and south to Australia .  

Behavior:  Buries in sand or cruises over reef flats looking for crabs and shrimps.  

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous  

Observations:  

Photographs: Racha Yai, Phuket , Thailand .  

Similar species: Blue stingray (Dasyatis marmorata), Blue spotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma).

 Reaction to divers: Often explodes from the sand and bolts from divers that unknowingly swim over it’s resting place. Considered difficult to approach but will allow reasonably close observation with slow, non threatening movements (stay low and swim on a vaguely convergent path). 

Diving logistics: There are many sites where Blue spotted stingrays are present. One place where you’re almost guaranteed to see them is in the bay at Racha Yai off the coast of Phuket , Thailand . Most Phuket dive companies run day trips to this site. From the bay swim away from shore until you are in about 40ft of water. I’ve seen perhaps 10 in one dive at this site.  

Other diving locations submitted by readers: 

I’ve also seen blue spotted stingrays in many other Thai dive sites and throughout Indonesia . One unusual dive site that I found lots of Blue spotted rays was on the sand flats surrounding Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand. Max depth is about 10ft and visability is generally very low. Tanks can be rented from dive operators on the beaches. 

 Further reading:

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