Scientific Name: Urobatis jamaicensis or Urolophus jamaicensis
Familiy: Urotrygonidae - Round rays
Class: Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes (sharks & rays)
Conservation status: Least concern
Sighting: Infrequent
Not really yellow, but brown with lighter and darker spots. We have seen this amazing fish a few times, always in the same are of the Virginia beach in Key Biscayne. It usually lays down on sand, motionless, in what seems cryptic behavior. We have also seen this behavior when it lays on top of turtle grass.
When it feels threatened, it swims away very quickly. We capture this in the video, below. In most cases, it first tries to "hide" in the environment, then starts swimming as it notices our focus, and finally, it disappears in a fast swim.
On another occasion we captured two of them together. In the camera. They are sting rays, so you want to stay a bit apart from them.
According to the Marine Species identification portal, it could be 1.2 to 1.8 meter wide. The ones we have seen are much smaller than that. Wikipedia mentions 70 cm (28 in) long. All the specimens we have seen are more about a foot (30 cm). Probably juveniles, that close to the shore.
We are still trying to see if it changes color, like cuttlefish, or not. Wikipedia mentions they could change coloration in response to the environment, but we have not been able to see that in the videos. So far.
All in all a very exciting sight!.
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