Blue-spotted Stingray Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Oval to rounded disc, flattened top to bottom, usually under 35 cm across
• Yellowish-brown to olive-green back covered in bold, well-spaced blue spots
• Tail thick at the base and relatively short, with a bright electric-blue stripe running along each side to the tip
• One or two venomous spines set near the base of the tail
• Eyes and spiracles raised on top of the head, allowing the ray to breathe while buried in sand

Common look-alikes

• Bluespotted maskray has similar blue flecking but a longer, slender whip-like tail that lacks the continuous blue side-stripes
• Reticulate whipray occupies the same reefs but shows a brown reticulated, net-like pattern instead of discrete round spots
• Kuhl's stingray is larger and duller, with fewer, less vivid spots and a longer tail

Where you'll see one

Common across shallow coral reef flats, sandy lagoons, and reef-edge channels throughout the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to Australia. It spends daylight hours resting partly buried in sand under ledges or coral heads, becoming more active to forage at night.