A new book Sharks and Rays of Borneo, the island of Borneo has 30 different stingrays: not surprising for the most biologically diverse region on the planet. The book was written by Dr Peter Last and Dr William White from the CSIRO Wealth from Oceans Flagship and the Australian National Fish Collection. According to Dr Last Borneo has a rich variety of aquatic habitats ranging from coastal estuaries and coral reefs to the deep ocean.
He added that the diverse geography is reflected in Sharks and Rays of Borneo, the first comprehensive guide to Borneo’s sharks and rays and the culmination of a decade of collaborative research by Australian, United States, Indonesian and Malaysian scientists. He informed that thousands of specimens were collected and examined for the book, from ports and fish markets across Sabah, Kalimantan and Sarawak, and from fishing vessels and research voyages.
The book contains all the vital information that will help meet the critical need for accurate identification to aid the conservation and management of this most vulnerable group of fishes. Sharks and Rays of Borneo describes the features, distribution, local names, habitat, biology and conservation status of 118 shark and ray species.
Dr White said that learning more about Borneo’s sharks and rays has helped to put Australia’s shark and ray fauna in context with the Asian region and supports the long-held belief that we have a high level of endemism. The Borneo project builds on knowledge gained from other projects in the South-east Asian region, including the Philippines and Indonesia, and ran in collaboration with a major study of the parasites of sharks and rays.
