The fanray (''Platyrhina sinensis'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

ray Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Platyrhinidae The Platyrhinidae are a family of rays, commonly known as thornbacks due to their dorsal rows of large thorns. They resemble guitarfishes in shape. Though traditionally classified with stingrays, molecular evidence suggests they are more closel ...

that lives in the western Pacific Ocean. It typically grows to a length of and a weight of , with a brown upperside and a white underside. It eats fish and crustaceans and has poor mobility. Males live to age five and females to age twelve, with both sexes maturing between two and five years. The species is found in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and possibly Indonesia, in waters shallower than . It is probable that its population is declining due to being caught as a bycatch.

Description

The fanray grows to a maximum known length of , but most specimens are long and weigh . Its body is flat throughout and shaped like a fan. The species' upperside is brown in color, its underside white, and the edge of its body yellow. It has wide nostrils, small eyes, a short snout, and a transversal through its mouth splitting it. It has multiple small teeth and thorn-like scales on the upperside of its body.

Behavior

The fanray eats small fish and crustaceans, specifically shrimp and

mysids Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this ...

. To feed, it usually stays on the sea floor until there is an opportunity to capture food; it is a nocturnal species. It exhibits oviparity and mates in April or May. It swims slowly, due to the fact that its only way to move is by moving its tail forwards and backwards. Males have a lifespan of five years, maturing between two and four years, while females have a lifespan of twelve years, maturing between three and five years. Both sexes mature when between and in total length, females at a slightly larger size than males. Specimens at

Ariake Bay The is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It is the largest bay in Kyūshū. Its deepest point is only about 50 meters (165 ft) deep, and e ...

, the most common area the species occurs in, were surveyed from May 2002 to September 2006 for their age, growth, and sexual maturity. The survey revealed that females grow slower than males but achieve a greater total length as an adult. It also determined that in comparison to other related species, the ray grows and matures quickly, and lives for a short amount of time.

Habitat and distribution

The fanray lives in the western Pacific Ocean in waters up to deep, generally between and in coastal areas with a sandy sea floor. In particular, it is found off the coasts of China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and possibly Indonesia. The species is the most abundant

elasmobranch Elasmobranchii () is a subclass of Chondrichthyes or cartilaginous fish, including sharks (superorder Selachii), rays, skates, and sawfish (superorder Batoidea). Members of this subclass are characterised by having five to seven pairs of g ...

species in Ariake Bay, Kyūshū, and is also common in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour term ...

and

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea () is a marginal sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of a ...

. The species is caught as

bycatch Bycatch (or by-catch), in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while fishing for specific species or sizes of wildlife. Bycatch is either the wrong species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juven ...

gillnet Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

s and

trawl Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch different spe ...

s, sometimes being discarded but other times made use of. However, its population has not been negatively affected by these activities. Its flesh can be eaten fresh or after being dried. Its exact population or population trend is unknown, but its population in the East China Sea is known to be decreasing due to trawling activities. The fact that it lives in shallower waters makes it easy to be caught by fisheries. The species is the most common in several countries in the Northern part of its range. Currently, no conservation actions or restrictions are taking place on behalf of the species. Because of its probable population decline, the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

lists it as an endangered species.

Description

Behavior

Habitat and distribution

References

External links