Eastern shovelnose ray
Aptychotrema rostrata
Illustration: Bloom by Day
Sandy brown and flattened, with a long pointed translucent snout, a triangular front end and a thick shark-like tail carrying two fins set well back. It lies half-buried on sand flats with only its eyes and spiracles showing, and a diver usually sees it leave rather than arrive.
how to recognise it
- a long flattened triangular snout
- a wedge-shaped disc and a long shark-like tail
- sandy to brownish above with darker blotches, and a dark snout
- pale below with darker flecks
don’t confuse with
- Green sawfish — a green sawfish has 24 to 28 pairs of TEETH along its saw; this shovelnose has a smooth snout and is far smaller. The sawfish is critically endangered
- Whitespotted eagle ray — the eagle ray has a diamond-shaped disc with white spots and rings and a long whip tail; this one is a flat sandy bottom-dweller with a pointed snout
Field marks read from Fishes of Australia, 2026-10-13. Our wording, their facts. Max size 120 cm TL.
facts
- habitat
- sand
- size
- ~80 cm, to 120 cm
Max size from Fishes of Australia (120 cm TL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 35 at 5 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
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A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Max overall length: 150cm, or Max interdorsal length: 60cm · Combined limit: 1 shark or ray per person, or 2 sharks or rays per boat (with 2 or more people on board).
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.