The whitespotted whipray or sharpnose stingray (''Maculabatis gerrardi'') is a species of

stingray Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ( ...

in the family Dasyatidae. It is found in coastal regions including estuaries, in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

, and has also been recorded in the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

.Ishihara, H. & Taniuchi, T. & Tanaka, Sho & Srivastava, M.P. (1998) Investigation of the freshwater elasmobranchs in the River Ganges. In Adaptability and conservation of freshwater elasmobranchs. Report of Research Project, Grant–in–Aid for International Scientific Research(Field Research) in the financial year of 1996 and 1997: 41–55 It reaches a maximum disc width of . As presently defined, it is probably a species complex.

Etymology

The Stingray is named in honor of

Edward Gerrard Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sax ...

(1810-1910), a taxidermist at the British Museum of Natural History, who with his shark and ray identifications assisted Gray.

References

*Last, P.R. and L.J.V. Compagno, 1999. Dasyatididae. Stingrays. p. 1479-1505. In K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Pacific. Vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). FAO, Rome. Maculabatis Fish described in 1851 Taxa named by John Edward Gray {{batoid-stub