A.R. Rastgoo - Department of Marine Biology, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
S.M.R. Fatemi - Department of Marine Biology, Tehran Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
T. Valinassab - Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI), Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), P.O. Box: ۱۴۹۶۵/۱۴۹. Tehran, Iran.
M.S. Mortazavi - Persian Gulf and Oman Sea Ecological Center, Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI), Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Bandar Abbas, Iran.

The feeding habits and trophic level of Himantura gerrardi were studied according to sex and size classes of ۸۰ individuals obtained using bottom trawl between May and December ۲۰۱۴ from the Oman Sea. Collected specimens were divided into three size classes (small<۳۸ cm, medium ۳۸-۵۸ cm and large>۵۸ cm) based on disk width. Prey was identified in seven main zoological categories, where crustacean and polychaetes were the dominant in diets, indicating this species is a demersal dwelling species. No significant differences were observed between sexes, but size classes showed significant differences in their diets. Also, results showed a decrease in feeding overlap between size classes with an increase in disk width, suggesting that intraspecific competition reduced, which allows the coexistence of different size classes. Trophic level was positively correlated with the disk width, which was lower than ۴.۰ for both sexes and different size classes, placing it in an intermediate trophic level.

Dasyatidae, Himantura gerrardi, Feeding habits, Trophic level, Oman Sea.