Urolophus mucosus Whitley, 1939 The western shovelnose stingaree (Trygonoptera mucosa) is a common species of stingray in the family Urolophidae, inhabiting shallow sandy flats and seagrass beds off southwestern Australia from Perth to Gulf St Vincent.

Sedentary polychaete worms are by far the most important food source of the western shovelnose stingaree; other benthic invertebrates and the odd bony fish may also be taken.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as of Least Concern, as it faces little to no fishing pressure other than in the northwestern extreme of its range, where it is frequently caught incidentally by trawls.

Bottom-dwelling in nature, the western shovelnose stingaree inhabits sandy and seagrass habitats at a depth of 1–40 m (3.3–131.2 ft), and particularly favors relatively deeper waters close inshore.

The western shovelnose stingaree is grayish to ochre to dark brown in color above, becoming dusky to black on the caudal fin; some rays also exhibit an irregular scattering of lighter and darker spots.

[1] The proportionately larger spiracles of the western shovelnose stingaree suggest that it is adapted for environments with lower dissolved oxygen levels than its close relatives.

The enlarged lobes and numerous sensory papillae adjacent to its mouth likely aid in locating, reaching and extracting such deep-burrowed prey; the ray also has a mechanism for avoiding the ingestion of sediment, possibly by expelling it through the gill slits.

Crustaceans, including shrimp, amphipods, isopods, mysids, and tanaids, and sipunculid worms constitute minor secondary food sources.

[8] Like other stingrays, the western shovelnose stingaree is aplacental viviparous; adult females have a single functional uterus (on the left), and produce litters of usually one, but rarely two, pups every year.

Newly fertilized eggs are enclosed by a thin brown membrane, and may undergo a short period of diapause (suspended development) before the onset of embryonic growth, as is the case in related species such as T. personata.