Blue Spotted Stingray

The blue spotted stingray (Taeniura lymma) is a dazzling creature that can be referred to by many different names. Believe it or not, stingrays like this have been around for over 150 million years and have even outlived the dinosaurs! Let’s take a closer look at what makes this sea superstar so amazing…

What does a Blue Spotted Stingray Look Like?

The blue spotted stingray is oval-shaped with eyes that stick out. Thanks to its body sprinkled with bright blue spots, this stingray is hard to miss and is adapted to warn predators away. Though small compared to other stingrays, its tail is armed with two venomous spines, so it definitely still packs a punch!

Habitat and Range

The blue spotted stingray is native to the warm, tropical waters of the Indo-West Pacific Ocean. Often found in coral reefs and sandy flats, they keep close to the seafloor where they feed on shrimp, crabs, small bony fish, molluscs (such as snails and clams), and polychaete worms. If you look carefully, you may see them resting in caves or under ledges.

Behaviours

The blue spotted stingray likes to glide along the seafloor using electroreception to find prey, as well as burying themselves under the sand. This special system allows them to detect tiny electrical signals from nearby prey. Once they locate their prey, they scoop it up and crush it using their plate-like teeth.

When they aren’t busy hunting, these rays like to get a helping hand from their ocean friends, the cleaner fish, who eat parasites and keep them looking spick and span.

Conservation Status

This species was last assessed by the IUCN in 2019, where it was classified as Near Threatened. This is mainly due to climate change and human activities that damage the coral reefs they depend on. Without these reefs, the rays lose shelter, making them more exposed to predators, and their food supply is reduced, since they rely on the fish and molluscs that live in the reef.

Find us in Ocean Tunnel

Come and see the blue spotted stingrays for yourself! Step into our Ocean Tunnel to feel like you’re walking on the seafloor thanks to the colourful fish, rays, sharks and more that swim all around you. You might even see our blue spotted stingrays gliding gracefully through the reef if you look carefully.