Blue-Spotted Stingrays on the Monte Carlo Hotel Reef
Arne
The Monte Carlo Hotel has a private reef. Coral, a lot of fish, and, on this dive, blue-spotted stingrays moving over the sand. Those were the animals I watched.
The rays
I saw a few of them as soon as I got down, gliding over the sand. Tan or olive bodies, bright blue spots. Small, and easy to pick out once you know the pattern.
Blue-spotted stingray facts
- Scientific name: Taeniura lymma.
- Blue spots on the body and blue stripes on the tail, which is a warning.
- They like shallow sand next to reef, which is this site.
- Wingspan up to about 35 centimetres (14 inches). They look gentle. They still have venomous spines on the tail.
- They would rather leave than fight.
- Bottom dwellers. They bury in the sand to hide or to rest during the day.
They were feeding on small mollusks and crustaceans while I watched. Quiet animals on a quiet reef. I would dive this wall again for that reason.
Related Posts
Finprints: the travel and dive map I built for myself
I needed one place for cities and dive sites, not another spreadsheet. Finprints is that map, and it powers the interactive log on this blog.
A Week Aboard Emperor Serenity: Diving the Central Atolls of the Maldives
A week on Emperor Serenity in February 2026, running the Best of Maldives route through the Central Atolls. The boat felt new after the 2024 renovation, and the crew made the week easy. A few things I hoped for never showed up.
Two Weeks on Discovery I in the Red Sea
Two weeks on Discovery I, running Brothers, Daedalus, and Elphinstone. Good diving and a crew that worked hard. The cabin stayed hot, the linen was rough, and it was the wrong season for the pelagics a lot of people came for.