Himantura undulata (Bleeker, 1852)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The honeycomb whipray (Himantura undulata) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found widely in the shallow coastal waters of the Indo-Pacific from India to the Malay Archipelago. This large species grows to 1.3 m (4.3 ft) across and has a diamond-shaped disc with rounded corners and a projecting, pointed snout. Its tail is long and whip-like, without fin folds. Adults have a striking dorsal color pattern consisting of large, dark brown rings and reticulations delineated by thin yellow lines, while juveniles have a pattern of large dark spots. This ray can also be distinguished from its similar relatives by an enlarged, pearl-like dermal denticle at the center of the back, which is followed by a few thorns. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed the honeycomb whipray as endangered, as it faces heavy fishing pressure and habitat degradation across much of its range.
Wikipedia contributors, Honeycomb whipray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:17.917688+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Himantura undulata (Bleeker, 1852)
- Name authority
- (Bleeker, 1852)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Myliobatiformes
- Family
- Dasyatidae
- Genus
- Himantura
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassBatoidea
- orderMyliobatiformes
- familyDasyatidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1879
- genusHimantura Müller & Henle, 1837
- speciesHimantura undulata (Bleeker, 1852)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Himantura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Himantura australis Last, White & Naylor, 2016 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura krempfi (Chabanaud, 1923) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura marginata (Blyth, 1860) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura pareh (Bleeker, 1852) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura arlyzae Borsa, Hernawan, Hocdé & Pouyaud, 2026 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura alcockii (Annandale, 1909) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura fava (Annandale, 1909) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura fluviatilis (Hamilton, 1822) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura microphthalma (Chen, 1948) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Himantura tutul Borsa, Durand, Shen, Alyza, Solihin & Berrebi, 2013 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| honeycomb stingrayHimantura uarnak (Gmelin, 1789) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Trygon undulata Bleeker, 1852 Bleeker, 1852 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217413 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3LY4Q. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.