Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis
Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, September 2021. Total Length: 23 cm (9.1 inches). Disc: 15 cm (5.9 inches) x 12 cm (4.7 inches). Tail: 9.0 cm (3.5 inches). Catch, photograph and identification courtesy of Dominick Porcelli, Lighthouse Point, Florida.
Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis. Fish caught from coastal waters off Tobacco Caye, Belize, October 2012. Total Length: 38 cm (15 inches). Disc: 24 cm (9.4 inches) x 19 cm (7.5 inches). Tail: 14 cm (5.3 inches). Catch, photograph, and identification courtesy of Josh Leisen (joshadventures.com), Gaylord, Michigan.
Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis. Underwater photograph taken in Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, March 2017. Photograph courtesy of Chery Anne Orrell, Montrose, British Columbia, Canada.
Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2016. Photograph courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis, is a member of the American Round Stingray or Urotrygonidae Family, and is known in Mexico as raya redonda de estero. Globally, there are six species in the genus Urobatis, of four which are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and three in the Pacific Ocean.
The Yellow Stingray has rounded pectoral fins and rounded pelvic fins that afford a rounded disc. Their dorsal side has either minute dark green or brown reticulations on a light background or dense white, yellow or golden spots on a dark green or brown background. Their ventral side is off-white with yellowish, greenish or brownish tinges. They have the ability to quickly change these colors for camouflage. Their caudal fin has dark spots. Their head has a short obtuse snout with spiracles that immediately follows the eyes and a straight mouth equipped with 30 to 34 rows of teeth in bands on both the upper and lower jaws. Their teeth are broad based and in juveniles and females they are low blunt crowns while in males they are pointed cusps and more widely spaced. They have well-developed caudal fins that extend around the tip of the stout and a flattened tail that has a doubly serrated venomous large spine near the base of the small leaf-shaped caudal fin that is four time longer than it is tall. Their tail is less than half their total length. They do not have a dorsal fin(s) and the pelvic fins have a straight front margin and a rounded rear margin. Mature fish have blunt tubercles (lacking in newborns) on their backs that extend from between the eyes, into the shoulders, and to the base of the tail. They also have recurved thorns along the upper margin of the caudal fin.
The Yellow Stingray is a demersal species and resides in-shore over sandy areas adjacent to reefs in regions including bays and estuaries and low-energy surf zones where invertebrates are abundant at depths up to 24 m (80 feet). They are a small ray and reach a maximum of 76 cm (2 feet 6 inches) in length with a disc that is slightly longer than it is wide and that can reach 36 cm (14 inches) in width. The Yellow Stingray is dimorphic with females being significantly larger than males. They are non-migratory with small home ranges spending the days half submerged in substrate; during the night they become active predators consuming clams, shrimps, worms and small fish. Reproduction is via aplencental viviparity with each female bearing two litters per year of two to seven live miniature Yellow Stingrays that have discs with a 6 cm (2.4 inches) width. The newborns have discs that are wider than they are long and are independent at birth. They have keen eyesight which helps them avoid predation by large carnivorous fish such as the Tiger Shark. The Yellow Stingrays are scientifically interesting because their brains are approximately 3 times larger than other rays. They have the ability to exhibit bio-fluorescence and when illuminated by blue or ultraviolet light they re-emit green light which is believed to be involved in intraspecific communication and camouflage. They have a lifespans of up to twenty-five years.
In Mexican waters the Yellow Stingray is found in all coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It has been documented that they use the Terminos Lagoon, Bahía de Campeche for breeding and as a nursery area.
The Yellow Stingray is straightforward to identify as it is the only Stingray found in Mexican waters of the Atlantic with a highly patterned dorsal side.
From a conservation perspective, the Yellow Stingray is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. However there are numerous reports that they are totally absent from several areas of the Caribbean. The Yellow Stingray should be considered dangerous and handled accordingly due to its large venomous tail spine. Human responses to puncture wounds vary from an itch to severe pain but is not considered to be life threatening. They are easily approached and friendly toward divers. Due to their small size they are of limited interest to most and not fished commercially. They are caught and sold on a limited basis by the aquarium trade as they quickly adapt to captivity but require a large amount of space. They are caught as a by-catch of other fisheries with a high mortality rate and have also been negatively affected by habitat degradation including the seagrass beds that they use for birth and pupping.