Estuary stingray

The estuary stingray (Hemitrygon fluviorum), also called the estuary stingaree or brown stingray, is a stingray of the family Dasyatidae found only along the eastern coast of Australia. It lives in shallow, mangrove-lined tidal rivers, estuaries and bays with sandy or muddy bottoms, most commonly in southern Queensland and also in New South Wales. The ray has a diamond-shaped, yellowish to greenish brown disc, a whip-like tail with a serrated stinging spine, and a row of enlarged thorns along the midline of its back; it grows to at least 93 cm across. It feeds mainly on crustaceans and bristle worms, although it is blamed for taking farmed oysters. Young are born live, nourished first by yolk and then by uterine fluid. The species was described by James Douglas Ogilby in 1908 from a specimen taken in the Brisbane River. It has declined across much of its range because of bycatch, recreational fishing, habitat degradation and persecution by shellfish farmers.