Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray

ocean · coral reefs · stingray · tropical

Brilliant blue spots. This ray is covered in striking electric blue spots on a yellowish background, plus two bright blue stripes running down its tail, making it one of the most colorful rays in the ocean.

Pocket-sized ray. It's a pretty small stingray, never growing wider than about 35 centimeters (14 inches), which is roughly the length of a ruler.

Big protruding eyes. This ray has large eyes that stick out noticeably from its head, giving it excellent vision to spot food on the ocean floor.

Shallow water dweller. You'll find this ray in the super shallow parts of coral reefs, anywhere from the water's edge down to about 30 meters deep, where sunlight still reaches the bottom.

Venomous tail spine. Like all stingrays, it has a sharp, venomous spine on its tail that it uses to defend itself if threatened.