Phil Watson, Australien, Australien
Info
Trygonorrhina dumerilii (Castelnau, 1873)
Trygonorrhinidae, the banjo rays, is a family of rays, comprising eight species in three genera. They were formerly classified in the family Rhinobatidae.
Around Australia there are the eastern fiddler rays (around Sydney) and the southern fiddler rays (around Melbourne). The patterning is slightly different.
The southern fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina dumerilii) can be distinguished from the Eastern Fiddler Ray by the patterns behind the eyes. The Southern Fiddler Ray has three parallel stripes, whereas the Eastern Fiddler Ray has a trianglar shape between the eyes and a diamond shaped pattern behind each eye.
A benthic species that occurs on continental shelf, mainly found on soft bottoms and seagrasses. Feeds on bottom crustaceans, worms, molluscs and small fishes.
Some individuals in the Gulf St Vincent, and at Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and in Port Phillip, Victoria, have a mottled dark-brown to black and white colour pattern. They were thought to belong to a separate species, Trygonorrhina melaleuca, until genetic studies showed that they were colour morphs of the Southern Fiddler Ray.
Synonymised names:
Rhinobatus dumerilii Castelnau, 1873 (synonym)
Trygonorrhina melaleuca Scott, 1954
Trygonorrhinidae, the banjo rays, is a family of rays, comprising eight species in three genera. They were formerly classified in the family Rhinobatidae.
Around Australia there are the eastern fiddler rays (around Sydney) and the southern fiddler rays (around Melbourne). The patterning is slightly different.
The southern fiddler ray (Trygonorrhina dumerilii) can be distinguished from the Eastern Fiddler Ray by the patterns behind the eyes. The Southern Fiddler Ray has three parallel stripes, whereas the Eastern Fiddler Ray has a trianglar shape between the eyes and a diamond shaped pattern behind each eye.
A benthic species that occurs on continental shelf, mainly found on soft bottoms and seagrasses. Feeds on bottom crustaceans, worms, molluscs and small fishes.
Some individuals in the Gulf St Vincent, and at Kangaroo Island, South Australia, and in Port Phillip, Victoria, have a mottled dark-brown to black and white colour pattern. They were thought to belong to a separate species, Trygonorrhina melaleuca, until genetic studies showed that they were colour morphs of the Southern Fiddler Ray.
Synonymised names:
Rhinobatus dumerilii Castelnau, 1873 (synonym)
Trygonorrhina melaleuca Scott, 1954
