Gymnura micrura (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
Smooth butterfly ray
Diamond skate,  Thappu thirandi,  शीवता,  டேப்பர் குட்டீ தீருக்கை,  பெரும் தீருக்,  టప్పు కూటి ,  టెంకీ కుంసాల్ ,  തപ്പു ത്തിരണ്ടി,  താപ്പു തിരണ്ടി 
Gymnura micrura
photo by JAMARC

Family:  Gymnuridae (Butterfly rays)
Max. size:  137 cm WD (male/unsexed); max.weight: 5,250.0 g
Environment:  demersal; brackish; marine; depth range - 55 m,
Distribution:  Southwestern Atlantic: Venezuela, including Trinidad and Tobago, to Brazil (Rio de Janeiro).
Diagnosis:  Broad, diamond-shaped ray with a very short tail lacking a dorsal spine (Ref. 26938). Snout protruding. Front edges of disk concave. Tail with low dorsal and ventral finfolds and 3 - 4 dark crossbars (Ref. 7251). Upper surface gray, brown, light green or purple with round spots. Lower surface white (Ref. 6902).
Biology:  Prefers neritic waters of the continental shelf and usually found on soft bottoms. May enter brackish estuaries or hyper-saline lagoons (Ref. 5217). Feeds on fish and shrimps (Ref. 28587); other crustaceans and clams (Ref. 27549). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Generally marketed salted (Ref. 5217).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT); Date assessed: 19 September 2020 (A2d) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless
Country info:  Common along Orissa coast (Ref. 45255). Outside distributional range, occurrence needs further confirmation (Ref. 9918).


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