Circular stingaree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Circular stingaree |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
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| Order: | |
| Family: |
Urolophidae
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| Genus: |
Urolophus
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| Species: |
U. circularis
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| Binomial name | |
| Urolophus circularis McKay, 1966
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The circular stingaree (Urolophus circularis) is a type of stingray that lives in the ocean. It belongs to the family called Urolophidae. This stingray is special because it is endemic to southwestern Australia, meaning it's only found there. It likes to live in places with rocks or lots of plants under the water.
This stingray can grow up to 60 cm (24 in) long. It has a unique look with an oval-shaped body (called a pectoral fin disc). Its back is bluish-gray with cool patterns of lighter spots and rings. It also has a circle of black spots with white edges right in the middle. Between its nostrils, it has a skin flap that looks like a skirt. Its tail has a big dorsal fin (top fin) before its stinging spine, and a deep, spear-shaped caudal fin (tail fin) at the end. People don't affect this stingray much, so it's listed as Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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Discovering the Circular Stingaree
The very first circular stingaree that scientists studied was found near Carnac Island, which is close to Fremantle in Western Australia. An Australian fish expert named Roland McKay described this new species in 1966. He wrote about it in a science journal. He named it circularis because of its round shape. Some people also call this stingray the "banded stingray."
Where They Live
The circular stingaree is not very common, and it only lives in a small area off the coast of southwestern Australia. You can find it between Esperance and Rottnest Island. This stingray lives on the bottom of the ocean, which means it's a benthic species. It can be found from the shallow shore all the way down to 120 m (390 ft) deep. They usually hang out over rocks, reefs, or among kelp forests.
What They Look Like
The circular stingaree has an oval-shaped body, which is called its pectoral fin disc. This disc is about as wide as it is long. The front edges of its body are slightly curved and meet at a wide angle at its fleshy snout, which sticks out a little. Its eyes are quite large, and behind them are comma-shaped holes called spiracles.
Between its nostrils, there's a short, skirt-like flap of skin. This flap has corners that stretch out into small lobes. The stingray has a good-sized mouth with 10 small, nipple-shaped bumps (called papillae) on the floor of its mouth. It also has small teeth. It has five pairs of short gill slits. Its pelvic fins (fins near its belly) are small and round.
The tail of the circular stingaree is about two-thirds as long as its body disc. It's oval-shaped and ends in a short, deep, leaf-shaped caudal fin (tail fin). There's a fairly large dorsal fin (top fin) on the upper part of its tail. Right after this fin, there's a stinging spine with jagged edges. The stingray's skin is completely smooth.
Its back is a slate-blue color with many whitish spots, blotches, and rings. It has a special pattern of large black spots with white borders arranged in a circle in the middle of its body. The dorsal fin and the edge of the tail fin might be brownish. The underside of the stingray is plain white, but its tail turns light brown. The biggest circular stingaree ever found was 60 cm (24 in) long.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Scientists don't know a lot about the daily life of the circular stingaree. We do know that they are aplacental viviparous. This means that the baby stingrays grow inside the mother, but they don't get food directly from a placenta like mammals do. Instead, they are fed by a special "uterine milk" produced by the mother. Based on other stingray species, they probably have only a few babies at a time. Male stingrays become old enough to have babies when they are less than 53 cm (21 in) long.
Circular Stingarees and People
Only a few circular stingarees have been collected and kept in museums for study. This species isn't really threatened by human activities. A small number of them might get caught by accident by scallop and prawn trawling boats in the area. However, because they prefer to live in rocky or plant-filled areas, they are mostly safe from fishing nets.
Because of this, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the circular stingaree as Least Concern. This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing. This stingray could also benefit from Australia's 2004 plan to protect and manage sharks and rays.
