Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays) >
Dasyatidae (Stingrays) > Urogymninae
Etymology: randalli: Named for J.E. Randall, Bishop Museum; whose work on the taxonomy of Indo-Pacific fishes is legendary, and who was amongst the first authors to publish a photographic image of this species (as H. gerrardi) in his guide to the fishes of Oman (Randall, 1995).
Eponymy: Dr John ‘Jack’ Ernest Randall Jr. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on authors: Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Moore.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 40 m (Ref. 90168). Tropical
Western Indian Ocean: off Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Iran. known from the Persian Gulf from where it is possibly endemic (Ref. 90168).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 41.2 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 90168)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
This medium-sized species (to at least 62 cm DW) is distinguished by the following set of characters: disc weakly rhomboidal; preorbital snout moderately elongate with weak apical lobe, snout angle 113-119°; rounded pectoral-fin apices, angle 96-98°; small, protrusible orbits; relatively broad mouth, its width 0.9-1.2 in internasal width; distance between first gill slits 2.5-2.6 times internasal distance; distance between fifth gill slits times 1.5-1.7 times internasal distance, 27-29% of ventral head length; broad pelvic-fin base, 13-17% DW; in juveniles, the tail behind sting is subcircular with deep longitudinal ventral groove and prominent mid-lateral ridge, in adults, it is weakly depressed; 1-2 (usually 1) small, broadly heart-shaped to seed shaped suprascapular denticles, primary denticle band and thorns absent; secondary denticle band irregularly sub-oval, relatively narrow (its maximum width across scapulocoracoid barely exceeding its width at spiracles), with well-defined lateral margins, narrowly tapering near tail base; fully developed band and covering entire dorsal surface of tail by 33 cm DW; dorsal surface mainly uniformly coloured (occasionally with dark flecks in specimens smaller than 25 cm DW), disc margin sometimes paler dorsally; ventral disc uniformly whitish, not black edged; in adults, darker dorsal surface of tail sharply demarcated from paler ventral surface; in neonates and juveniles, dark tail with conspicuous white saddles, its distal portion usually almost uniformly dark; pectoral-fin radials 124-129; 108-111 total vertebral count (excluding 1st synarcual centra), 43-44 monospondylous centra, 65-68 pre-sting diplospondylous centra (Ref. 90168).
Known from the Persian Gulf which is mostly shallower than 40 m and with depths rarely exceeding 60 m; soft substrates, mostly sand and mud (Ref. 90168).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Last, P.R., B.M. Manjaji-Matsumoto and A.B.M. Moore, 2012. Himantura randalli sp. nov., a new whipray (Myliobatoidea: Dasyatidae) from the Persian Gulf. Zootaxa 3327:20-32. (Ref. 90168)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 24.4 - 29.3, mean 26.9 °C (based on 128 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01023 (0.00486 - 0.02155), b=3.06 (2.87 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
