Neotrygon picta Last & White, 2008
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 peppered maskray (Neotrygon picta) or speckled maskray, is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in shallow waters off northeastern Australia. This small, thin-bodied ray attains a maximum width of 32 cm (13 in). It has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc with a row of tiny thorns along the midline, and a relatively short, whip-like tail with both upper and lower fin folds. Its upper surface has a speckled color pattern consisting of black spots and brownish reticulations on a light yellow to brown background.
Favoring soft-bottomed habitats, the peppered maskray is a bottom-dwelling predator consuming mainly crustaceans (particularly caridean shrimp) and polychaete worms. It is viviparous, with litter sizes of one to three. The females supply their developing young with histotroph ("uterine milk") during gestation. Although the peppered maskray is a frequent bycatch of bottom trawl fisheries, it is still common and significant portions of its population appear to lie within unfished waters. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed it as Least Concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Peppered maskray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:20:15.463162+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neotrygon picta Last & White, 2008
- Name authority
- Last & White, 2008
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Myliobatiformes
- Family
- Dasyatidae
- Genus
- Neotrygon
- 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
- genusNeotrygon Castelnau, 1873
- speciesNeotrygon picta Last & White, 2008
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Neotrygon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Neotrygon annotata (Last, 1987) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon australiae Last, White & Serét, 2016 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon leylandi (Last, 1987) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon vali Borsa, 2017 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon bobwardi Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen, 2017 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon westpapuensis Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen, 2017 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon indica Pavan-Kumar, Kumar, Pitale, Shen & Borsa, 2018 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon romeoi Glaus, White, O'Neill, Thurnheer & Appleyard, 2025 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon caeruleopunctata Last, White & Serét, 2016 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Blue spotted stingrayNeotrygon kuhlii (Müller & Henle, 1841) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon ningalooensis Last, White & Puckridge, 2010 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neotrygon orientalis Last, White & Serét, 2016 | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Last, P. R., & White, W. T. (2008). Resurrection of the genus Neotrygon Castelnau (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) with the description of Neotrygon picta sp. nov., a new species from the Northern Australia. In Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. (Eds.): Descriptions of New Australian Chondrichthyans. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper No. 22. 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:46W36. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.