Honeycomb stingray (Himantura uarnak)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Elasmobranchii · Order: Myliobatiformes · Family: Dasyatidae · Genus: Himantura.

Accepted name: Himantura uarnak · Authority: (Gmelin, 1789) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 105854.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Dasyatis uarnak (Gmelin, 1789); Dasybatus uarnak (Gmelin, 1789); Himantura punctata (Günther, 1870); Raja sephen uarnak Forsskål, 1775; Raja sephen var. uarnak Forsskål, 1775; Raja uarnak Gmelin, 1789; Trygon punctata Günther, 1870; Trygon uarnak (Gmelin, 1789).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105854 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Himantura uarnak. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 200 cm · Common length: 45 cm · Depth range: 20–50 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: other · Vulnerability index: 90 of 100 · Fishery importance: minor commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Common off sandy beaches and in shallow estuaries and lagoons; also found in sandy areas of coral reefs (Ref. 9710). Also offshore down to 50 m depth (Ref. 5578). May enter fresh water (Ref. 5578). Feeds on small fishes, bivalves, crabs, shrimps, worms (Ref. 3263) and jellyfishes (Ref. 37816). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Common catch of the demersal tangle net, bottom trawl, longline and beach seine fisheries (Ref.58048). Popular angling fish (Ref. 3263). Not esteemed as a food fish (Ref. 3263). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166). Tail is used as It is parasitised by the monogeneans Dendromonocotyle colorni and Dendromonocotyle ukuthena on the dorsal skin surface (Ref. 124058).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 5507) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Himantura-uarnak.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

1,308 georeferenced occurrence records for Himantura uarnak are published through GBIF from 42 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 279 distinct locations from a sample of 1,308 records, omitting 68 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Australia (688); South Africa (183); Mozambique (75); Egypt (73); Israel (64).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 9775198) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=9775198&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105854 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Himantura uarnak (Gmelin, 1789) as Endangered (code EN). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 201098826) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/201098826/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 9775198) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/9775198/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Often encountered resting on the bottom during daytime, the reticulate whipray is a predator of bottom-dwelling invertebrates and bony fishes. Like other stingrays, it is aplacental viviparous, with the developing embryos nourished at first by yolk and later by histotroph ("uterine milk"). Females bear litters of up to five pups in summer, following a gestation period of a year. The reticulate whipray is fished in parts of the Indian Ocean for meat, skin, cartilage, and other purposes. It is highly susceptible to population depletion because of its large size, inshore habits, and low reproductive rate, and is additionally threatened by extensive habitat degradation. Consequently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Endangered.

In 1775, Carsten Niebuhr published Descriptiones animalium – avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium: quæ in itinere orientali observavit, the work of his late friend, the Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål. Under what Forsskål had described as Raja sephen, now commonly known as the cowtail stingray, was a spotted variant he called uarnak ورنك, which is the Arabic name of stingrays on the Red Sea shores. No type specimen was then designated. Forsskål's account formed the basis for two subsequent writings that named the spotted ray as a distinct species: Pierre Joseph Bonnaterre's Raia scherit in 1788, and Johann Friedrich Gmelin's Raja uarnak in 1789. Although Bonnaterre's name was published first and thus would have had precedence, later authorities have regarded Forsskål's uarnak as the earliest available name even though it was not initially part of a binomial. Consequently, modern sources give uarnak as the valid specific epithet and either Gmelin or Forsskål as the species authority. In 1837, Johannes Peter Müller and Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle included the reticulate whipray in the newly created genus Himantura; David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann made it the type species in 1896. In the absence of an original type specimen, a neotype from the Jeddah region in the Red Sea was designated along with the diagnostic features that definitely enable researchers to distinguish Himantura uarnak from its close relatives.

The reticulate whipray is closely related to H. undulata, H. leoparda as well as the recently described H. tutul (previously confused with H. leoparda) and H. australis. All five species are very similar in size and shape, and their colour patterns may overlap to some extent, resulting in a long history of taxonomic confusion that only recently has begun to be untangled. In 2004, Mabel Manjaji designated as the 'uarnak' species complex a group of genetically unrelated species including H. fai, H. gerrardi, H. jenkinsii, H. leoparda, H. toshi, H. uarnak, and H. undulata, plus three more undescribed species. While species within this complex may reside in overlapping geographical ranges and habitats, hybridization between species is at most a very rare occurrence. The best approach for identifying individuals within this complex has been advised for use of the universal COI barcode.

More recently, genera in the stingray family Dasyatidae were redefined based on molecular phylogenetics. Species previously under Himantura now belong to separate genera. The reticulate whipray itself varies in appearance throughout its range, and further taxonomic comparisons are required to determine whether its spotted and reticulated color morphs in fact represent different species. Alternate common names for this ray include the honeycomb ray, coachwhip ray, leopard stingray, longtail stingray, and marbled stingray; some of these names are shared by other, similar species.

The pectoral fin disc of the reticulate whipray is diamond-shaped and wider than long, with the leading margins almost straight and the snout and outer corners quadrangular. The pectoral fin apex is narrowly rounded with the anterior margin almost straight. In juveniles, the disc is about as wide as long, with a more obtuse snout and rounded corners.

The eyes are small and have a small interorbital diameter. Immediately following the eyes lie the spiracles which are paired respiratory openings. A short and wide curtain of skin with a minutely fringed rear margin is present between the long, thin nostrils. The mouth is relatively small, with a deep concavity at the center of the lower jaw and shallow furrows at the corners extending onto the lower jaw. A row of 4–5 papillae (nipple-like structures) is found across the floor of the mouth. There are 26–40 upper tooth rows and 27–44 lower tooth rows. The pelvic fins are small and triangular. The tail is whip-like and extremely thin, measuring 3–3.5 times as long as the disc when intact, and lacks fin folds. Usually one serrated stinging spine is located on the upper surface on the tail, some distance from the base.

Adult rays have a wide band of flattened, heart-shaped dermal denticles that extend from between the eyes to the tail spine, increasing in density with age, along with two large pearl thorns at the center of the back. The tail behind the spine is covered by small thorns. The dorsal band of denticles is largely developed by the time the juveniles are 50 cm across. The coloration of the reticulate whipray varies substantially with age and locality. Adults generally have a dorsal pattern of numerous closely spaced dark brown spots or reticulations on a beige to yellow-brown background, which becomes blackish past the spine with lighter bands on the sides. This textured coloration is often described as a "beehive pattern," and is a prime example of a Voronoi cell that arises frequently in nature featuring repeated arrays of polygonal structures. This pattern has been found to be an evolutionary optimization that minimizes constructional energy for the pattern in addition to providing cryptic coloration. The ventral side a pale, white color without markings. Juveniles are yellowish above with tiny, densely packed dark spots, around seven spots in a line between the spiracles, and three rows of spots in front of the sting. These spots tend be larger in juveniles and reduce in size as the individual ages to form the distinct "honeycomb/leopard" pattern and is considered a Negative Allometric Growth Pattern.

This large species has been reported to reach a disc width of 2 m, a total length of 6 m, and a weight of 120 kg.

Habitat of the reticulate whipray includes coral reefs, brackish water and marine environments. Within these ecosystems they can be found inshore and on soft substrates. Distribution occurs in the North of Taiwan, the Western Indian Ocean (mainly in Malaysia, Myanmar, Indo-Pacific), The Red Sea, west to the Natal in South Africa, and the Arabian Sea. It also entered 30 years ago the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal and it is now common in the south eastern Mediterranean. The recently described H. australis formerly confused with H. uarnak seems to be common only in Australian waters, where it occurs from Shark Bay to Brisbane.

Bottom-dwelling in nature, the reticulate whipray is generally encountered over sandy flats near beaches, in lagoons, and around coral reefs, from the intertidal zone to offshore waters 50 m deep or more. These microhabitats (intertidal sand flats, shallow subtidal sand flats and seagrass beds) are found to be shifted in use between warm and cold seasons. In Shark Bay, it frequents intertidal sand flats during the warm season, and shifts to slightly deeper seagrass patches in the cold season. This species is tolerant of low salinities and has been known to enter estuaries and mangrove swamps, though records from fresh water in Southeast Asia are unverified and may represent misidentifications.

Source: Wikipedia: Reticulate whipray — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticulate_whipray (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.