Backwater butterfly ray

See also: Diamond stingray

The backwater butterfly ray, butterfly ray, diamond ray, or short-tailed ray (Gymnura natalensis) is a species of chondrichthyan fish in the family Gymnuridae. It is found off the coasts of Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, possibly Kenya, and possibly Tanzania. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, estuarine waters, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat loss, though it was considered common from 1940s-1960s.

Backwater butterfly ray
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Myliobatiformes
Family:	Gymnuridae
Genus:	Gymnura
Species:	G. natalensis
Binomial name
Gymnura natalensis (Gilchrist & W. W. Thompson, 1911)