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Taeniura lymma
It is a fairly small ray, not exceeding 35 cm (14 in) in width, with a mostly smooth, oval pectoral fin disc, large protruding eyes, and a relatively short and thick tail with a deep fin fold underneath. It can be easily identified by its striking color pattern of many electric blue spots on a yellowish background, with a pair of blue stripes on the tail.
Coral sea lagoon. Sheltering under the corals during the day.
Spotted on Sep 26, 2013
Submitted on Sep 28, 2013
4 Comments
When I've seen these before Shanna, it was in deeper water and they had partially covered themselves with sand. But this was in a shallow coral lagoon and hiding under the corals probably seemed more sensible protection. Which meant, while we only saw the front edge of the disc, it was clean of sand, and very close.
Wow.
I've seen them several times, Tiz, but only in the Great Barrier Reef. They are wonderful little rays.
We have this ray in Mozambique as well :) It's like a blue diamond that shimmers on the ocean floor!