Home > Illustration > Wildlife > Blue-Spotted Ray

Blue-Spotted Ray

Blue-Spotted Ray line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Blue-Spotted Ray full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Blue-Spotted Ray was completed on 3.25.11. I'm not exactly sure why, but rays hold a special fascination for me. Perhaps because they are so otherworldly looking. I was standing about ankle deep in water off a beach in Costa Rica, when something bumped into my leg and startled me. I looked down to see a small ray swimming around me. And as I glanced up the beach I saw dozens of them making their way along in the shallow waters. The drawing is based on a photo by Bryce Ford.

Information about the Blue-Spotted Ray:

The Blue-Spotted Ray - also called the Bluespotted Maskray or Blue-Spotted Stingray - is native to the sandy bottoms near rocky or coral reefs, and in shallow lagoons. These rays live alone or in small groups. They're fairly common in sandy bays of South East Asia and throughout the Indo Pacific from the Red Sea to Japan and south to Australia. The large tail spine of the blue spot stingray is dangerous and deadly. The barbs in the tail are so large, people have bled to death from a sting. When feeding, the Blue-spotted ray waits for the tide to raise, then small groups swarm into shallow, sandy reef flats, looking for worms, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish. After they eat, they settle under the sand to rest in coral caves or on the reef bottom.