Blue spotted stingray

Neotrygon kuhlii

Sharks and rays
IUCN: Data deficient

Usual depth3–155 m
Water temperature13–30 °C
Best monthsMay
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Elias Levy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Kuhl's maskray, also known as the blue-spotted stingray, blue-spotted maskray, or Kuhl's stingray, is a species of stingray of the family Dasyatidae. Originally classified in the genus Dasyatis, it was transferred to the genus Neotrygon in 2008 after morphological and molecular analyses showed it to be distinct. The body is rhomboidal and colored green with blue spots. Maximum disk width is estimated 46.5 cm (18.3 in). It is popular in aquaria, but usually not distinguished from the blue-spotted ribbontail ray. The ribbontail has a rounded body, is a brighter green with brighter blue and more vivid spots, but Kuhl's maskray is larger. The stingray's lifespan is estimated at 13 years for females and 10 years for males. The blue-spotted stingray preys on many fish and small mollusks. It is also generally found from Indonesia to Japan, and most of Australia. Kuhl's maskray also is targeted by many parasites, such as tapeworms, flatworms, and flukes.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Kuhl's maskray”, 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: 1 records
February: 1 records
March: 2 records
April: 4 records
May: 38 records
June: 4 records
July: 7 records
August: 5 records
September: 6 records
October: 7 records
November: 2 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–155 m · Deepest record: 425 m

0–10 m: 11 records
10–20 m: 9 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 14 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 13–30 °C

12–14 °C: 3 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 7 records
18–20 °C: 1 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 11 records
24–26 °C: 22 records
26–28 °C: 39 records
28–30 °C: 53 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Blue spotted stingray, Bluespot Stingray, Blue-spotted Maskray, Bluespotted Maskray, Blue-spotted Stingaree, blue-spotted stingray, Bluespotted Stingray, Kuhl's Maskray, Kuhl's Stingray, Spotted stingray

Names in 7 more languages

German: Grauer Stechrochen, Kuhls Stechrochen, Maskenstechrochen
French: Pastenague à points bleus, Raie à points bleus, Requin raie
Indonesian: Ali, Anin, Pari kodok
Japanese: Yakko-ei, ヤッコエイ
Korean: 꽁지가오리
Thai: ปลากระเบนจุดฟ้า
Simplified Chinese: 古氏新魟, 古氏新魟（古氏土魟）, 查某仔囝, 沙帽子, 肉絲魟, 蝙仔, 魴仔

Other scientific names: Amphotistius kuhlii, Dasyatis kuhli, Dasyatis kuhlii, Dasyatis luhlii, Dasyatus kuhlii, Dasybatus kuhli, Dicerobatis kuhlii, Raya trigonoides, Trygon kuhlii

Similar species

Reef stingray
Taeniura lymma
Honeycomb stingray
Himantura uarnak

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).
507 open-data records from 1841 to 2023.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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