Ningaloo Maskray

The Ningaloo maskray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc about 1.1 times wider than long, with straight to slightly convex leading margins and rounded outer corners. The snout is short and rounded. The eyes are large and protruding, with large crescent-shaped spiracles behind. Between the slender nostrils is a curtain-shaped flap of skin with a deeply fringed rear margin that is divided into two lobes. The small mouth has shallow grooves at the corners and is surrounded by papillae; there are also two long papillae on the floor of the mouth. The teeth range from long and pointed to short and blunt. There are five pairs of S-shaped gill slits. The pelvic fins are narrow and triangular. The whip-like tail bears two very slender stinging spines on the upper surface; it is fairly broad and flattened at the base and tapers evenly past the stings. Behind the stings are well-developed dorsal and ventral fin folds; the dorsal fold is smaller than the ventral fold, which is deep and short relative to the tail's total length. The only dermal denticles are four or five small, closely spaced thorns in a midline row behind the spiracles. …

Endemic to northwestern Australia, the Ningaloo maskray has been found from Shark Bay in Western Australia to the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory. This bottom-dwelling species appears to have very restricted habitat preferences: it inhabits areas of fine reddish sand close to reefs, in inshore waters less than 5 m (16 ft) deep.

Compared to other maskrays, the Ningaloo maskray has more protruding eyes that allow it to bury itself deeper in the substrate and still remain aware of its surroundings. Within its favored habitat, its coloration makes it well camouflaged against predators.