Rays Codexery

Reticulate whipray

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Reticulate whipray

User:Steven Walling · via Wikipedia: Reticulate whipray · CC BY-SA 3.0

The reticulate whipray (Himantura uarnak) is a large stingray species that can reach a disc width of 2 m and a total length of 6 m.[1] Its pectoral fin disc is diamond-shaped and wider than long, with a whip-like tail measuring 3–3.5 times the disc length.[2][3] The species is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[4]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. OrderMyliobatiformes
  6. FamilyDasyatidae
  7. GenusHimantura
  8. SpeciesHimantura uarnak

Named by (Forsskål, 1775) or (J. F. Gmelin, 1789)

Close relatives

Other species of Himantura with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Reticulate whipray (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 105854 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Endangered (EN)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN▲ this species
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

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

How big is it?

Size comparison: Reticulate whipray and a personA 6 m long reticulate whipray drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.6 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 6 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

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

Where the reticulate whipray has been recorded

Where the reticulate whipray has been recorded118 mapped locations from 1,287 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Red SeaRed Sea

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (1,287 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 68 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 4 isolated far-off records not drawn.

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)

Last updated 2026-10-09 from the source article.

Biology and range

Its distribution spans the North of Taiwan, the Western Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Arabian Sea, and it entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal about 30 years ago.[5] The coloration varies with age and locality, with adults displaying a dorsal pattern of dark brown spots or reticulations on a beige to yellow-brown background.[6] The reticulate whipray is found in coral reefs, brackish water, and marine settings, occurring inshore on soft substrates from the intertidal zone down to depths of 50 m.[5][7] This ray is a bottom-dwelling species that remains largely inactive during daylight hours, often lying still on the seafloor or concealed beneath sand.[8]

Crabs, shrimps, bivalves, gastropods, worms, jellyfish, and bony fishes are among the benthic and neritic organisms that the reticulate whipray eats.[9] As with other stingrays, this species is aplacental viviparous; after a gestation lasting about one year, females produce up to five pups.[10]

What the specialist sources record

A doctoral thesis on chondrichthyan vision found that Himantura uarnak has specializations for photopic vision with high numbers of cones and high spatial resolving power.[11] The WoRMS database records Himantura uarnak as an accepted species in the family Dasyatidae, with environment listed as marine and brackish.[12] GBIF holds 1,505 occurrence records for this taxon as of October 2026.[13] Worldwide, it is believed that the species has experienced a population decrease of 50–79% during the past 75 years.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 449–440; Arlyza1, "istribution Patterns of the Morphology, Species, and Sex in the Stingray Species Complex of Himantura uarnak, Himantura undulata, and Himantura leoparda in Indonesia", Makara Journal of Science, 2013-08-25; ; Smith, J.L.B., "Smiths' Sea Fishes", Struik, 2003, p. 139–140 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tun, "STUDY ON THE FISHERY STATUS OF COACH WHIPRAY, HIMANTURA UARNAK AT TWO FISH LANDING SITES OF MON STATE", Myanmar Academy, 2020, p. 335–341 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 449–440 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Reticulate Whipray - Himantura uarnak", 2021-02-16; "Reticulate Whipray - Himantura uarnak", 2021-02-16 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tun, "STUDY ON THE FISHERY STATUS OF COACH WHIPRAY, HIMANTURA UARNAK AT TWO FISH LANDING SITES OF MON STATE", Myanmar Academy, 2020, p. 335–341; "Neotype designation and re-description of Forsskål's reticulate whipray Himantura uarnak", Marine Biodiversity, 2021, p. 28; Tun, "STUDY ON THE FISHERY STATUS OF COACH WHIPRAY, HIMANTURA UARNAK AT TWO FISH LANDING SITES OF MON STATE", Myanmar Academy, 2020, p. 335–341; Atlas of Exotic Fishes in the Mediterranean Sea (Himantura uarnak). 2nd Edition. 2021. 366p. CIESM Publishers, Paris, Monac en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Perricone, "Hexagonal Voronoi pattern detected in the microstructural design of the echinoid skeleton", Journal of the Royal Society Interface, August 2022; Perricone, "Hexagonal Voronoi pattern detected in the microstructural design of the echinoid skeleton", Journal of the Royal Society Interface, August 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sherman, C.S., Bin Ali, A., Bineesh, K.K., Derrick, D., Dharmadi, Fahmi, Fernando, D., Haque, A.B., Maung, A., Seyha, L., Tanay, D., Utzurrum, J.A.T., Vo, V.Q. & Yuneni, R.R., "Himantura uarnak", IUCN, 2021; Vaudo, "Spatiotemporal variability in a sandflat elasmobranch fauna in Shark Bay, Australia", Marine Biology, 2009-11-01, p. 2579–2590; "Spatiotemporal variability in a sandflat elasmobranch fauna in Shark Bay, Australia", Marine Biology, 2009, p. 2579–2590; "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 220; "Freshwater stingrays (Dasy en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Sharks", Firefly Books, 2002, p. 220 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Michael, S.W., "Reef Sharks & Rays of the World", Sea Challengers, 1993, p. 87; "Coastal fishes of Oman", University of Hawaii Press, 1995, p. 46; Salini, J.P., "Diets of piscivorous fishes in a tropical Australian estuary, with special reference to predation on penaeid prawns", Marine Biology, Oct 1990, p. 363–374; Vaudo, "Spatiotemporal variability in a sandflat elasmobranch fauna in Shark Bay, Australia", Marine Biology, 2009-11-01, p. 2579–2590; Mateos-Molina, "Coastal lagoons in the United Arab Emirates serve as critical habit en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Reticulate whipray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sherman, C.S., Bin Ali, A., Bineesh, K.K., Derrick, D., Dharmadi, Fahmi, Fernando, D., Haque, A.B., Maung, A., Seyha, L., Tanay, D., Utzurrum, J.A.T., Vo, V.Q. & Yuneni, R.R., "Himantura uarnak", IUCN, 2021; Michael, S.W., "Reef Sharks & Rays of the World", Sea Challengers, 1993, p. 87; Heemstra, E., "Coastal fishes of Southern Africa", NISC and SAIAB, 2004, p. 83; "Sharks and Rays of Australia", Harvard University Press, 2009, p. 449–440; "Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans", CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, en.wikipedia.org
  11. Garza Gisholt, "Visual specializations and light detection in Chondrichthyes", 2015. facts only, no text reused. research-repository.uwa.edu.au
  12. World Register of Marine Species, Himantura uarnak (AphiaID 105854). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  13. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Himantura uarnak (taxon key 9775198). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org
  14. "Reticulate Whipray - Himantura uarnak", 2021-02-16. facts only, no text reused. sharksandrays.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Reticulate whipray (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, Blackish stingray Hemitrygon navarrae, Blue stingray Dasyatis chrysonota

More in Rays

Black-spotted whiprayBrown whiprayRound whiprayKuhl's maskrayNingaloo maskrayPeppered maskrayPlain maskrayCowtail stingrayRoughnose stingrayHortle's whiprayJenkins' whiprayPink whipray

Test yourself

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

1. What is the scientific name of the reticulate whipray?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Himantura uarnak.

2. In what year was the reticulate whipray first scientifically described?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1789.

3. To which biological family does the reticulate whipray belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Dasyatidae.

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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