Pink Whipray

The pectoral fin disc of the pink whipray is diamond-shaped and thick at the center, measuring about 1.1–1.2 times wider than long. The outer corners of the disc are angular. The snout forms a very obtuse angle, with the tip barely protruding. The small, widely spaced eyes are followed by larger spiracles. There is a short and broad curtain of skin with a finely fringed posterior margin between the long, thin nostrils. The mouth is fairly small and surrounded by prominent furrows; the lower jaw has a small indentation in the middle. There are two large central and two tiny lateral papillae on the floor of the mouth. The teeth are small and arranged into pavement-like surfaces. Five pairs of gill slits are located beneath the disc. The pelvic fins are small and narrow.

The exact range of the pink whipray is unclear due to confusion with the Jenkins' whipray (H. jenkinsii). It is believed to be common throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, probably occurring all around Indian Ocean periphery from South Africa to northern Australia, from the year 2014 appears in the Red Sea. Its range extends to the Pacific Ocean, northward to the Philippines, the Ryukyu Islands, and Iriomote, and eastward to various islands including Micronesia, the Marquesas Islands, and Samoa.

Small to large gatherings of pink whiprays have been observed over sandy flats and coral reefs in Shark Bay, on the Great Barrier Reef, and in the Caroline Islands. When resting, up to ten individuals may pile atop one another, sometimes mixing with other species. On Ningaloo Reef, it has been seen "riding" on larger species of rays. The pink whipray feeds primarily on decapod crustaceans, but also takes cephalopods, and teleost fishes. In Shark Bay, penaeid prawns are by far the dominant prey type for rays of all sizes. At Rangiroa Atoll in French Polynesia, sizable feeding aggregations are known to form at night in shallow water. However, at Moorea it tends to be a solitary forager with a large home range.

Though not highly dangerous to humans, the pink whipray's venomous sting makes it difficult to handle when it is thrashing in a fishing net. Usually, it must be thrown overboard before the rest of the catch can be sorted. Throughout Indonesia and Malaysia, and probably elsewhere in its range, this species is a regular incidental catch of coastal fisheries using tangle nets, bottom trawls, gillnets, seine nets, and to a lesser extent longlines. When retained, the meat, skin, and cartilage are utilized. Fishing activity in Southeast Asia is intense and largely unregulated, and this large ray may be more vulnerable to depletion than its smaller relatives because of its slower reproductive rate.