This bluespotted ribbontail stingray (Taeniura lymma: 40 cms.) swam towards me, with gentle undulations of its body. Its strikingly beautiful appearance represents a warning to potential predators; it can inflict exceedingly painful wounds with its venomous tail spine. A nocturnal feeder on invertebrates and small fish, for which it roots in the sand, it usually shelters underneath coral crevices during the day. Because of reef degradation, coastal over-fishing and capture for the aquarium trade, the IUCN Red List includes the species as 'near vulnerable'. Photographed in the Egyptian Red Sea.

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Size: 2594px × 2140px
Location: Near Marsa Alam, Egypt
Photo credit: © Terence Dormer / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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