DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Leopard Whipray
Himantura leoparda
- Usual depth1–46 m
- Water temperature24–29 °C
- Best monthsApril and November
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) Tom Heijnen, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Tom Heijnen · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The leopard whipray is a little-known species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in the central Indo-West Pacific region, from the Andaman Sea to the Coral Triangle. It is found close to shore at depths shallower than 70 m (230 ft), over soft substrates. Attaining a width of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), this species has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc with a pointed snout and an extremely long, whip-like tail without fin folds. Adult rays have a leopard-like dorsal pattern of dark brown rings on a yellowish brown background, as well as a row of enlarged, heart-shaped dermal denticles along the midline of the disc. Newborns and small juveniles have large, solid dark spots and few denticles. The leopard whipray is caught by fisheries in many parts of its range, primarily for meat.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Leopard whipray”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 2 records
- February: 2 records
- March: 6 records
- April: 13 records
- May: 1 records
- June: 7 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 1 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 3 records
- November: 8 records
- December: 4 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 1–46 m · Deepest record: 65 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 24–29 °C
Photos
(c) Tom Heijnen, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Leopard Whipray
Names in 2 more languages
- Japanese
- Hyomonotomei, ヒョウモンオトメエイ
- Thai
- ปลากระเบนลายเสือดาว
Similar species
Australian WhiprayHimantura australis
Honeycomb stingrayHimantura uarnak
- honeycomb whipray
Himantura fava
- Blackedge Whipray
Himantura marginata
Bathytoshia matsubaraiBathytoshia brevicaudata
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 146 open-data records from 1980 to 2023.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
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