Appearance
The pectoral fin disc of the Jenkins' whipray is diamond-shaped and rather thick in the center, measuring 1.1–1.2 times wider than long; the outer corners of the disc are broadly rounded. The anterior margins of the disc are nearly straight and converge at a very obtuse angle on the snout, which has a barely protruding tip. The eyes are medium-sized and closely followed by larger spiracles. A short, broad curtain of skin with a finely fringed posterior margin is present between the long, thin nostrils. The mouth is wide and gently arched, and contains four papillae on the floor, the inner pair of which is shorter than the outer.The pelvic fins are small and narrow. The cylindrical, tapering tail lacks fin folds and measures slightly longer than the disc width. One to three serrated, stinging spines are located atop the tail, approximately one-quarter of the total tail length back from the base. The upper surface of the disc has a granular texture and bears a broad central band of closely spaced, flattened heart-shaped dermal denticles, beginning between the eyes, becoming widest at the "shoulders", and extending to entirely cover the tail. One or more rows of large, spear-like thorns also run along the dorsal midline from the center of the disc to the base of the sting. Barring the possible spotted variant, this species is a uniform yellowish brown above, with the disc margin and underside white, and the tail gray past the sting. It can grow up to 1.5 m across and 3.0 m long.
Distribution
The Jenkins' whipray is rather common, with a wide but patchy distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. It occurs off southeastern Africa , the Socotra Islands near Yemen, South and Southeast Asia , New Guinea, and northern Australia from Ningaloo Reef to the Gulf of Carpentaria. This bottom-dwelling species is generally found close to shore in water under 50 m deep, though it has been recorded as far down as 100 m off northwestern Australia. It prefers sandy or silty bottoms, often in lagoons, and has been known to enter brackish water.Behavior
The Jenkins' whipray may be encountered alone or in groups; there is some evidence of segregation by sex. Small teleost fishes form a substantial portion of its diet, while crustaceans are also taken. One individual has been observed accompanying a smalleye stingray off Tofo, Mozambique. Known parasites of this species include the tapeworms ''Dollfusiella ocallaghani'', ''Parachristianella baverstocki'', ''P. indonesiensis'', and ''Pterobothrium platycephalum''. As in other stingrays, the Jenkins' whipray is aplacental viviparous: the developing embryos are sustained at first by yolk, which is later supplanted by histotroph produced by the mother. The newborns measure 20–27 cm across, and males reach sexual maturity at 75–85 cm across.Habitat
The Jenkins' whipray is rather common, with a wide but patchy distributed in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. It occurs off southeastern Africa , the Socotra Islands near Yemen, South and Southeast Asia , New Guinea, and northern Australia from Ningaloo Reef to the Gulf of Carpentaria. This bottom-dwelling species is generally found close to shore in water under 50 m deep, though it has been recorded as far down as 100 m off northwestern Australia. It prefers sandy or silty bottoms, often in lagoons, and has been known to enter brackish water.The Jenkins' whipray may be encountered alone or in groups; there is some evidence of segregation by sex. Small teleost fishes form a substantial portion of its diet, while crustaceans are also taken. One individual has been observed accompanying a smalleye stingray off Tofo, Mozambique. Known parasites of this species include the tapeworms ''Dollfusiella ocallaghani'', ''Parachristianella baverstocki'', ''P. indonesiensis'', and ''Pterobothrium platycephalum''. As in other stingrays, the Jenkins' whipray is aplacental viviparous: the developing embryos are sustained at first by yolk, which is later supplanted by histotroph produced by the mother. The newborns measure 20–27 cm across, and males reach sexual maturity at 75–85 cm across.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
