diamond diamond species family found coastal waters southern california northern chile generally inhabits sandy muddy flats near rocky reefs forests depth hawaii range considerably deeper common suggests species angular diamond shaped pectoral fin disc plain brown gray rows shoulders long whip like tail dorsal ventral fin distinguish ray closely similar typically grows searching food diamond form groups hundreds individuals active night mainly invertebrates small bony fishes extracted digging species viviparous embryos exhaust yolk supply milk produced mother females bear pups summer mating followed month period sperm storage arrested development embryos rapidly mature months slowest growing known species fishing pressure caught food latin_america particularly mexico economically important rays led assessed mexico species listed humans diamond long tail spine potentially dangerous taxonomy phylogeny diamond described twice american proceedings bulletin jordan gilbert account published published october making feminine correct published gave precedence leading long standing confusion later genus authors listed place addition hawaiian followed authors requires study confirmation species collected california specific epithet derived latin wing tail referring fin sides tail rat tailed common species phylogenetic analysis based morphology determined diamond western atlantic_ocean sister species likely diverged formation panama addition found second basal taxa genus common distribution habitat diamond found eastern pacific_ocean southern california northern chile abundant baja california northern southern extremes range generally present periods suitably warm water brought record ray british_columbia unconfirmed highly known tropical warm temperate species dwelling waters diamond favors sandy muddy bottoms near rocky reefs forests southern california usually occurs zone depth summer shifting depths late fall winter unknown reasons prefers forests sandy flats chile diamond occurs similar depth hand species reported far hawaii accurate suggest utilizes greater range depths previously realized description diamond disc width possibly females grow larger males pectoral fin disc shape slightly wider long angular outer corners subtly convex margins snout blunt angled non projecting eyes fairly large immediately followed paired respiratory openings mouth strongly curved containing upper tooth rows lower tooth rows teeth small blunt arranged flattened surfaces like structures found row floor mouth whip like tail generally measures half times length disc bears replacements grown long slender spine upper surface closer base tip spine long dorsal ventral fin rise gradually reaching relatively high apex sloping abruptly presence upper fin fold separates species similar shares range tail damaged case species field impossible young rays completely smooth skin adults develop row low flanked shorter rows shoulders tail covered species uniform olive brown gray black tail white biology ecology diamond active night spending day buried sand eyes protruding foraging food solitary commonly forms groups numbering hundreds strong segregation sex age species feeds crustaceans invertebrates small bony fishes powerful jaws like teeth allow crush hard shelled prey mainly targets organisms prey exposed record female small crabs complex baja california sur important source food crabs followed razor worms typical hunting strategy diamond cruise sea floor landing atop prey encountered quickly body disc producing negative pressure extract prey ray known large pits disc jets water uncover buried prey diamond frequently trailed smaller fishes including mexican long spine advantage invertebrates stirred ray activities known parasites species include like diamond viviparous embryos initially yolk later milk rich proteins produced mother left functional adult females bays pacific coast baja california known serve life history information available species come females bear litter pups year courtship mating occurs late summer july august month period sperm storage embryo dormant development begin following year completed months takes place summer july september shallow measure years higher temperatures appear shift timing birth forward diamond lowest growth rate species studied males reach sexual maturity years age females grow slower reaching maturity years age maximum lifespan estimated years males years females human interactions fatality southern california resulted long tail spine diamond aggressive usually flee given opportunity ray found united_states sufficient numbers economically important range caught substantial numbers human consumption intentionally pectoral fins wings sold fresh notes diamond low reproductive productivity renders susceptible population currently lacks biological fishery data assess overall central south american parts range mexico diamond important components pacific shark ray fisheries comprising tenth total annual catch significance likely mexican fishery reports frequently suffer lack species specific data mainly caught summer fall common ray landed second common ray landed state main fishing gear employed adult juvenile rays easily tail spines juveniles known comprised catch species caught incidentally fish traps future habitat degradation increasing numbers shrimp farms pose additional threat species region result pressures iucn assessed diamond mexican waters management schemes enacted species
Diamond stingray