page_title: Estuary stingray
section_title: Biology and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Estuary stingray / Biology and ecology
caption_attribution_description: Light-blue Soldier Crab (Mictyris longicarpus), faimly Mictyridae.
context_page_description: The estuary stingray, also called the estuary stingaree or brown stingray, is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae. Endemic to eastern Australia, it typically inhabits shallow, mangrove-lined tidal rivers, estuaries, and bays in southern Queensland and New South Wales. This yellow-brown to olive ray grows to at least 93 cm across. It has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc and a mostly smooth, whip-like tail bearing both dorsal and ventral fin folds. It can additionally be identified by its long, narrow nostrils and the row of thorns along the midline of its back.
  While the estuary stingray has gained infamy for consuming farmed shellfish such as oysters, it mainly feeds on crustaceans and polychaete worms. It is aplacental viviparous, with the unborn young sustained to term by maternal histotroph. Once common, this species has apparently declined across much of its range, likely from a combination of habitat degradation, mortality from commercial and recreational fishing, and persecution by shellfish farmers. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as Vulnerable.
context_section_description: Despite its reputation for preying voraciously on oysters and other farmed shellfish, the estuary stingray's diet in fact consists mainly of crustaceans and polychaete worms. In Moreton Bay, an important prey species is the soldier crab (Mictyris longicarpus). This ray has been observed entering mudflats with the rising tide to forage for food. Known parasites of the estuary stingray include the tapeworm Shirleyrhynchus aetobatidis, the nematode Echinocephalus overstreeti and the monogeneans Heterocotyle chin,  Empruthotrema dasyatidis and Neoentobdella cribbi.
  Like other stingrays, the estuary stingray exhibits aplacental viviparity, with the developing embryos sustained initially by yolk and later by histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. Females probably produce offspring every year. Courtship, in which the male follows the female and bites her disc, has been observed at night in water approximately 80 cm (31 in) deep in Hays Inlet from July to October. The newborns measure around 11 cm (4.3 in) across and 35 cm (14 in) long. Young rays have been caught in the Nerang and Macleay Rivers and in Hays Inlet; such fresh or brackish environments may serve as nurseries. Males mature at around 41 cm (16 in) across and seven years of age, and females mature at around 63 cm (25 in) across and 13 years of age. This disparity in maturation size between the sexes is among the widest known for stingrays. The maximum lifespan is estimated to be 16 years for males and 23 years for females.
caption: The soldier crab is an important prey species of the estuary stingray.
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