Pink Whipray

Pateobatis fai

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Dasyatidae
Genus: Pateobatis
Species: Pateobatis fai

The pink whipray (Pateobatis fai) is a large stingray up to about 1.8 m across, with a rhomboid disc that is plain pinkish-grey to brownish above and white below. Its very long, slender tail is dark beyond the venomous spine and lacks a fin fold.

It lives over sandy bottoms near coral reefs and in lagoons, sometimes resting in groups, and feeds on bottom-dwelling crustaceans, molluscs and fish. The species is listed as Vulnerable.

In the Philippines pink whiprays are found in coastal and reef-associated waters and are occasionally encountered by divers on sandy slopes and in channels between reefs. They are generally calm if approached slowly.

Photo: Cricket Raspet, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist