Kapala Stingaree

Fascinating facts about the Kapala Stingaree

• A 2006 Zootaxa paper gave this ray a name, honoring the research ship FRV Kapala that hauled up the first specimen, a 35 cm (14 in) male, on November 14, 1984.
• The Kapala stingaree prefers rocky reefs from 10 m down to 130 m (33–427 ft), and is especially common deeper than 62 m (203 ft) off Queensland but is common shallower than 50 m (160 ft) south of the Clarence River in New South Wales.
• A single adult can grow up to 51 cm (20 in) long, with a tail that reaches 82–90 % of the disc length and ends in a leaf-shaped fin framed by thin skin folds.
• About 70 % of its stomach contents by volume are tiny shrimp and amphipods, with older individuals consuming proportionately more amphipods and fewer shrimp than younger rays.
• Females usually give birth to just one pup, which is 15 cm (5.9 in) long at birth, and males only become mature at 28–31 cm (11–12 in). Such low reproductive output makes the species especially vulnerable to by-catch in prawn trawls, explaining why the IUCN lists it as Near Threatened and why protecting its few offspring matters for its survival.

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