Estuary Stingray - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The range of the estuary stingray spans approximately 1,700 km (1,100 mi) along Australia's eastern coast, from Repulse Bay in Queensland to the Hacking River in New South Wales. It is most common in southern Queensland, including in Hervey Bay and Moreton Bay. This species was formerly suspected to have disappeared from Botany Bay and Port Jackson in the 1880s, but recent observations have shown this is not the case. Additional species records from the Cape York Peninsula, Northern Territory, New Guinea, and the South China Sea probably represent misidentifications of other stingrays, primarily the freshwater whipray (Himantura dalyensis) and an undescribed species presently called the "Merauke stingray".

The habitat requirements of the estuary stingray appear to be rather stringent, as significant numbers are only found at particular locations. It prefers tidal rivers and the intertidal flats of estuaries and bays, which are lined with mangroves and have sandy to muddy bottoms. This species is rarely found outside these sheltered areas, though it has been recorded to a depth of 28 m (92 ft) in offshore waters. It inhabits marine and brackish waters, and may be able to tolerate fresh water as well as it has been known to swim upriver beyond the limit of high tide. Surface water temperatures within its range vary from 24–29 °C (75–84 °F) in the north to 17–23 °C (63–73 °F) in the south. This species seems to segregate by size and sex.