Pateobatis hortlei (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola, 2006)
Hortle's whipray

Family:  Dasyatidae (Stingrays), subfamily: Urogymninae
Max. size:  70.7 cm WD (male/unsexed); 65.4 cm WD (female)
Environment:  demersal; brackish; marine; depth range 2 - 7 m
Distribution:  Western Pacific: eastern Indonesia (Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea and northern Australia.
Diagnosis:  Distinguished by the following combination of characters: subcircular disc, very angular anteriorly, length 1.1 times DW; pectoral-fin apices broadly rounded; snout extremely elongate, 11-18 times orbit diameter, 96-99° angle; snout to maximum disc width 52-58% of DW; orbit very small, diameter 0.4-0.5 of spiracle length, 3.8-6.3 times in interorbital distance; mouth not greatly protrusible; prepelvic process not expanded; 1-3 enlarged, flattened, pearl-shaped mid-scapular denticles; denticles of main band in two main sizes in adults, crowns plate-like to heart-shaped; dorsal disc uniformly yellowish, brownish, or greyish; ventral surface of adults usually canary yellow in fresh material, often black around oronasal region and gill slits; pectoral fin radials 135-143; pelvic-fin radials 22-28; total vertebral centra 99-108 (Ref. 58025).
Biology:  Demersal inshore; commonly found over shallow intertidal mud flats and in estuaries in only several metres depth. Viviparous, with histotrophy. Presumably feeds on crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes. Caught regularly, but usually avoided, by beach seine fisheries operating in intertidal habitats. Possibly adversely affected by mangrove loss. Utilized for its meat, and possibly also for its skin and cartilage. (Ref.58048).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 02 February 2021 (A2cd) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Also Ref. 114953.


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