Scientific Name- Urogymnus asperrimus PORCUPINE RAY By Christine Nordstrom & Tiffany Azpeita Scientific Name- Urogymnus   asperrimus  

Kingdom, Phylum, etc. Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichtyhes Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Chondrichtyhes Order: Rajiformes Family: Dasyatidae Genus: Urogymnus Species: U. asperrimus

SIZE Length: 147 cm WD male/unsexed Mass: ????

LOCATION! It is found in Australia, British Indian Ocean Territory, Ivory Coast, Fiji, Guam, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Oman, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is shallow seas.

HUNGRY? they use the sense of smell and electro-receptors .They feed primarily on mollusks and crustaceans and occasionally on small fish. Their mouths contain powerful, shell-crushing teeth

SOME FACTS (: Ovoviviparous Due to its difficult handling, it is probably of limited commercial value Its thorn can inlict a painful injury! large juveniles and adults with additional sharp conical thorns and small, pointed denticles Very thick elongated disc with broadly rounded outer corners; snout broadly rounded and tail slender, about as long as body and without finfolds. Light grey or whitish dorsally, white ventrally; tail blackish

HUMAN IMPACT Caught commonly by demersal tangle net fisheries. Utilized for its meat, skin and cartilage. It’s very high in value