Common Name: Coffin Ray

Distribution: Common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Endemic to Australia, recorded from the North West Shelf area of Western Australia, south through the Great Australian Bight and Gulf St Vincent. On the east coast from eastern Victoria north to southern Queensland.

Ecological Notes: Frequents inshore and offshore areas, shallow muddy estuaries and silty offshore reef, to a depth of at least 240 m.

Additional Notes: Pale to dark double lobed body, with two small rounded dorsal fins and tail. Two eyes close set on the midline. Usually lies buried with only eyes exposed, and feeds on relatively large fish which it consumes whole after stunning them with an electric discharge from a pair of electric organs on the side of the head. Large robust specimens may deliver a painful shock to divers. Grow to 70 cm.

References: R. Stuart-Smith, G. Edgar, A. Green, I. Shaw, Tropical Marine Fishes of Australia. Reed New Holland Publishers, 2015. p.26.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/Hypnos-monopterygium.html. Accessed 30/09/2018.