Urobatis pardalis
Silhouette: M Kolmann · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
The leopard round stingray (Urobatis pardalis) or Central American round stingray and Costa Rican round stingray is a small species of round ray found in shallow waters off the coast from Costa Rica to Colombia in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The species name, pardalis, is from the leopard round stingray's dorsal patterning which resembles that of a leopard. This species is endemic to the Tropical Eastern Pacific, from Costa Rica to Colombia. They can be observed from the intertidal zone to a depth of around 20 m (65.6 ft) inhabiting reefs, seagrass meadows, and sandy areas on continental shelves.
The leopard round stingray has a circular body disc with a dorsum that lacks tubercles. Its dorsum also possesses a grayish or tan base coloration, dusky patches that usually form a honeycomb pattern, and small, and dark spots that vary in size. The ray's thick tail (which is shorter than its disc) is armed with a venomous tail spine. The average proportions for an adult ray is around 38 cm (15.0 in) or 25 cm (9.8 in) in total length and the maximum size is around 30 cm (11.8 in) in width and 46 cm (18.1 in) in total length with... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coiba National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama |
More parks will be added in future updates.
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Leopard Round Ray sighting in Coiba National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 5 sharks and rays we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January–February and May
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Leopard Round Ray in Coiba National Park on a given day, against about 20% in November, the lowest month. Those are among Coiba National Park's driest months, with about 200 mm of rain a month against 590 mm in November. June and September–October have too few records to rate.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Leopard Round Ray sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Coiba National Park, in our data
Coiba National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Leopard Round Ray sightings: about 60% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Myliobatiformes
The closest relatives of the Leopard Round Ray that you can see in Coiba National Park (order Myliobatiformes, Stingrays) are Longtail Stingray (about 40%) and Pacific Eagle Ray (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Leopard Round Ray is recorded against all the sharks and rays logged in Coiba National Park (23 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
