Maculabatis toshi

The brown whipray (Maculabatis toshi) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, common in inshore, muddy habitats along the northern coast of Australia. It has often been confused in literature for the honeycomb stingray (H. uarnak) and the black-spotted whipray (H. astra), which until recently was thought to be the same species. This species has an angular, diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc and a long, very thin tail without fin folds. It is plain brown above, sometimes with white dots or flecks near the edge of the disc, and white below; the tail is dark all over, with alternating dark and light bands near the tip. The maximum recorded disc width is 74 cm. The diet of the brown whipray consists of crustaceans and small bony fishes. Reproduction is aplacental viviparous; females produce litters of 1–2 young and supply them with histotroph ("uterine milk") during gestation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the brown whipray under Least Concern because most of its range lies within Australian waters, where it is caught by prawn trawlers but at only minimal levels since the mandatory installation of bycatch reduction devices. However, larger numbers are caught in the Arafura Sea and marketed for meat, skin, and cartilage.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.