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Himantura fai

Himantura fai (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Classis: Chondrichthyes
Subclassis: Elasmobranchii
Superordo: Rajomorphii
Ordo: Rajiformes
Superfamilia: Dasyatoidea
Familia: Dasyatidae
Genus: Himantura
Species: Himantura fai

Vernacular names
English: pink whipray

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The pink whipray, Himantura fai, is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae. It may be synonymous with the sharpnose stingray (H. gerrardi).[1] The exact distribution of this species is unclear due to confusion with the pointed-nose whipray (H. jenkinsii), but it is believed to be common throughout the the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa eastward to Micronesia and Australia, and as far north as Iriomote Island.[2][3] It is commonly encountered in lagoons and sand flats near coral reefs, to a depth of 200 m (660 ft).[1] The specific epithet fai means "stingray" in the native languages of Samoa, Tonga, Futuna, and Tahiti.[4]

The pink whipray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disk with a very broad, characteristically blunt-tipped snout. The eyes and spiracles are small and widely spaced. The mouth is medium-sized, with two large central and two tiny lateral papillae on the floor. The tail is extremely long and thin, measuring at least twice the body length when intact, with a single serrated spine and no fin folds. There is a broad, dense band of rounded dermal denticles over the disk and tail. In juveniles, the skin is either smooth or bears scattered, flat, heart-shaped denticles. The dorsal coloration is a uniform light brown to brownish pink, the underside is light, and the tail is dark gray to black past the spine.[3][2] This species reaches a length of at least 5 m (16 ft) and a disk width of 1.5 m (5 ft).[3] It can weigh as much as 18.5 kg (41 lbs).[1]

Pink whiprays are often seen in groups. Like other stingrays, this species is ovoviviparous, in which the developing embryos are supplied with nutrient-rich histotroph ("uterine milk") through specialized structures by the mother. The newborns measure around 55 cm (22 in) across. It is regularly caught in tangle nets, bottom trawls, and less commonly on longlines. The meat, skin, and cartilage are utilized.[1] They are also of value to ecotourism; in locations such as the Maldives, they are attracted to visitors using food.[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2009). "Himantura fai" in FishBase. April 2009 version.
2. ^ a b Hidenori, Y. and Tetsuo, Y. (1999). "First record of a stingray, Himantura fai collected from Iriomote Island, the Ryukyu Islands". Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 46 (1): 39–43.
3. ^ a b c Last, P.R. and Compagno, L.J.V. (1999). "Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae". in Carpenter, K.E. and Niem, V.H.. FAO identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9251043027.
4. ^ Churchill, W. (1911). The Polynesian Wanderings: Tracks of the Migration Deduced From an Examination of the Proto-Samoan Content of Efaté and Other Languages of Melanesia. The Carnegie Institution of Washington.
5. ^ Anderson, C. and Waheed, A. (Jul. 2001). "The economics of shark and ray watching in the Maldives". Shark News 13. The IUCN/SSC Shark Specialist Group. Retrieved on April 7, 2009.

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Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License