No photo available
Porcupine whipray
Urogymnus asperrimus
Valid name (FishBase; confirmed in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes and WoRMS, October 2026).
- English
- Porcupine whipray
- Scientific
- Urogymnus asperrimus
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Rays
- Family
- Dasyatidae (stingrays)
- Maximum size
- Disc width up to about 1.5 m
- Depth and habitat
- Coral reefs and reef-associated habitats, recorded from 15 to 217 m; also enters brackish water
- IUCN status
- EN · EndangeredEndangered (EN), assessed 2023
Description
A thick, heavily armoured ray with a rounded, greyish-brown disc covered in sharp conical thorns and flat denticles, and no venomous tail spine. It lives on sand and coral rubble near reefs, often in caves, from about 15 m down. It is listed as Endangered, mainly because it is caught in tangle nets for its valuable skin.
In the Maldives
All rays are protected in the Maldives (since 2014).
Sources
- fishbase.se /summary/Urogymnus-asperrimus.html
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Urogymnus_asperrimus.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in MRS 1997 (available chapters), FishBase (country: Maldives) or Dhivehi Wikipedia.