Coachwhip ray vs common bottlenose dolphin

Urogymnus granulatus compared with Tursiops truncatus

Key Differences

• Coachwhip ray is Vulnerable while common bottlenose dolphin is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coachwhip ray	common bottlenose dolphin
Kingdom same	Animalia (động vật)	Animalia (động vật)
Phylum same	Chordata (động vật có dây sống)	Chordata (động vật có dây sống)
Class	Elasmobranchii	Mammalia (lớp Thú)
Order	Myliobatiformes (Bộ Cá đuối ó)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Dasyatidae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Urogymnus	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)
Species	Urogymnus granulatus	Tursiops truncatus

Evolutionary Relationship

Coachwhip ray and common bottlenose dolphin share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (động vật có dây sống)

Conservation Status

Coachwhip ray

VU — Vulnerable

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coachwhip ray	common bottlenose dolphin
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	45 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	300.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coachwhip ray

common bottlenose dolphin

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 12 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Coachwhip ray

The coachwhip ray, Urogymnus granulatus, is a large elasmobranch in the family Urogymidae found across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the Red Sea and East Africa through South and Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the western Pacific islands. It inhabits shallow coastal waters including coral reef flats, sandy lagoons, seagrass beds, and estuarine habitats, where it forages for benthic invertebrates and small fishes buried in the substrate. The coachwhip ray is characterized by an oval disc and a long, whip-like tail with one or more venomous spines at its base, giving the species its common name. The disc reaches up to 1.4 meters in width, making it one of the larger members of its family. Urogymnus granulatus is ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young after internal development, and has low reproductive rates that make populations slow to recover from exploitation. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN due to significant declines caused by intensive coastal fisheries across its range, particularly in South and Southeast Asia where it is commonly caught as bycatch or targeted for its valuable meat, skin, and gill plates in local markets. Habitat degradation from coastal development and coral reef decline compounds the threat to wild populations.

common bottlenose dolphin

The most studied and recognized dolphin species, bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate oceans worldwide, from coastal shallows to the open sea. Highly intelligent with large brains relative to body size, they demonstrate self-recognition, complex communication, and social learning. They live in fluid fission-fusion societies and cooperate to herd fish. A keystone indicator species for marine ecosystem health.