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ANDY MURCH ELASMO GEEK

 

WHAT IS ELASMODIVER?

Not just a huge collection of Shark Pictures: Elasmodiver.com contains images of sharks, skates, rays, and a few chimaera's from around the world. Elasmodiver began as a simple web based shark field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter the different species of sharks and rays that live in shallow water but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and shark photography.

There are now more than 10,000 shark pictures  and sections on shark evolution, biology, and conservation. There is a large library of reviewed shark books, a constantly updated 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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Shark picture - green sawfish

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CORTEZ ROUND STINGRAY

 

Photographs copyright Andy Murch

Enlarged image     More Cortez round stingray pictures

View all available Cortez Round Stingray Pictures in the Shark Pictures Database

Common Names: Cortez round stingray

Latin Name: Urobatis maculatus

Family: Urobatidae

Identification: Similar to Round stingray but with conspicuous dark spots on disc.

Size: Maximum length 42cm

 Habitat: Sandy bays, rocky reefs, and sea grass beds. Intertidal to 20m.

Abundance and distribution: From the Sea of Cortez to Magdalena Bay on the west coast of Baja. Often abundant in shallow bays in the southern Sea of Cortez . 

Behavior: Forages during the day for worms and crustaceans.

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous. Gravid females exude milk from the wall of the uterus.

Observations:  

Photographs: Mulege, Baja , Mexico .  Playa El Burro, Baja, Mexico.

Similar species: Round stingray – Urolophus halleri.  

Reaction to divers: Moves away upon close approach.  

Diving logistics: This species is easily found whilst snorkelling over sand or near rocky reefs in the southern Sea of Cortez . I encountered 5 individuals within about ten minutes whilst snorkelling off the beach at Mulege. They are also commonly seen in this area whilst diving and I encountered them at Punta Conception at about 50ft. This site is dived by Cortez Explorers based in Mulege.  South of Mulege at Playa El Burro I snorkelled off the sandy beach and encountered many (perhaps a hundred or more) in around 3 to 8ft of water. The encounters took place in October.

Update: At Playa Conception in February I found hundreds of Cortez Round Stingrays over the course of 3 days. The water temp was a chilly 65 degrees.

Other diving locations submitted by readers:

References and further reading:

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

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