Rays Codexery

Peppered maskray

Last updated

Peppered maskray

CSIRO National Fish Collection · via Wikipedia: Peppered maskray · CC BY 3.0 au

Peter Last and William White formally described this species in a 2008 CSIRO publication.[1] The IUCN categorizes this species as Least Concern, citing its continued commonness and presence within multiple Marine Protected Areas.[2]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. OrderMyliobatiformes
  6. FamilyDasyatidae
  7. GenusNeotrygon
  8. SpeciesNeotrygon picta

Named by Last & W. T. White, 2008

Close relatives

Other species of Neotrygon with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Peppered maskray (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 398332 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2015

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Peppered maskray and a personA 0.32 m long peppered maskray drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.32 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.32 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Peppered maskray

Where the peppered maskray has been recorded

Where the peppered maskray has been recorded62 mapped locations from 163 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Hervey BayHervey Bay

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (163 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 8 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

This species ranges along the coast of northeastern Australia from the Wessel Islands to Hervey Bay.[3] The pectoral fin disc of the peppered maskray is thin, diamond-shaped, and about 1.2 times as wide as it is long.[4] Its tail, which is whip-like, has a length ranging from 1.0 to 1.3 times the disc length and carries slender stinging spines.[5] A dark marking across the eyes, resembling a mask, is a characteristic shared with other Neotrygon species.[5]

Caridean shrimp constitute the overwhelmingly dominant food source for this ray.[6] This species reproduces via viviparity, with females producing litters of one to three pups annually.[7] Sexual maturity is reached by males at roughly 17 cm across and by females at roughly 18 cm across.[7]

What the specialist sources record

The WoRMS database records Neotrygon picta as an accepted species in the family Dasyatidae.[8] GBIF holds 217 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[9] The Open Library record for ISBN 9780674034112 lists "Sharks and rays of Australia" as a 644-page book published by Harvard University Press in 2009.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans", Csiro Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 454–455; Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015; Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015; "Feeding ecology and dietary comparisons among three sympatric Neotrygon (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) species", Journal of Fish Biology, 2012, p. 1580–1594 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 454–455; "Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans", Csiro Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 454–455; "Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans", Csiro Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper, 2008; Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015; "Feeding ecology and dietary comparisons among three sympatric Neotrygon (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) species", Journal of Fish Biology, 2012, p. 1580–1594 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Peppered maskray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Age and growth of Neotrygon picta, Neotrygon annotata and Neotrygon kuhlii from north-east Australia, with notes on their reproductive biology", Journal of Fish Biology, 2010, p. 2405–2422; Pierce, S.J., "Neotrygon picta", 2015; "Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans", Csiro Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. World Register of Marine Species, Neotrygon picta (AphiaID 398332). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  9. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Neotrygon picta (taxon key 2419600). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
  10. Open Library record, ISBN 9780674034112 ("Sharks and rays of Australia"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Peppered maskray (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Dasyatidae)

Atlantic stingray Hypanus sabinus, Bennett's stingray Hemitrygon bennetti, Black-spotted whipray Maculabatis astra, Blackedge whipray Himantura marginata, Blackish stingray Hemitrygon navarrae, Blue stingray Dasyatis chrysonota

Named in this entry

Gulf of Carpentaria

More in Rays

Plain maskrayCowtail stingrayRoughnose stingrayHortle's whiprayJenkins' whiprayPink whiprayWhitenose whiprayBluespotted ribbontail rayTaeniura lessoniRound fantail stingrayRound ribbontail rayTelatrygon biasa

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. What is the scientific name of the peppered maskray?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Neotrygon picta.

2. To which biological family does the peppered maskray belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Dasyatidae.

3. In what year was the peppered maskray first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 2008.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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