For other species known as bull rays, see bull ray (disambiguation)

Bull ray (disambiguation)

Various stingray species are at times called bull rays. These include:* Bull rays * Bull ray * Blotched fantail ray * Black stingray or thorntail stingray...

.

The Australian bull ray (Myliobatis australis) or southern eagle ray is a large eagle ray

Eagle ray

The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom....

 of temperate waters of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It is possible that it is the same species as the New Zealand eagle ray

New Zealand eagle ray

The New Zealand eagle ray, Myliobatis tenuicaudatus, is an eagle ray of the family Myliobatidae, found in bays, estuaries, and near rocky reefs around New Zealand to depths of 160 m...

 (Myliobatis tenuicaudatus).

It is found in the southern waters of Australia from Jurien Bay

Jurien Bay, Western Australia

-Demographics:At the ABS 2006 census, Jurien Bay had a population of 1,175, which represented over one-third of the total population of the Shire of Dandaragan...

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, around the southern coast and Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 and up the east coast as far as Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay is a bay on the eastern coast of Australia 45 km from Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources...

, south Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. It is uncommon at its northern limits (Moreton Bay and northern New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

).

At maturity the body (not including tail) reaches about 80 cm in width and 45 cm in length for females and 65 cm width and 40 cm length for males. The maximum width known is about 160 cm and total length (including tail) 240 cm. They weigh up to at least 87 kg. It has a blunt snout with eyes on the sides of the head. Its long whip-like tail carries a venomous spine.

It is commonly found off beaches and in shallow water over sand flats. Individuals often enter very shallow water around dusk. It is also found as deep as 85 m.

It eats mainly crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s (hermit crab

Hermit crab

Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...

s, swimmer crabs and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

), mollusc

Mollusca

The Mollusca , common name molluscs or mollusksSpelled mollusks in the USA, see reasons given in Rosenberg's ; for the spelling mollusc see the reasons given by , is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. Mollusca is the largest...

s, echiurid worms and polychaete

Polychaete

The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...

s.