Short-tailed river stingray

Short-tailed river stingray
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Potamotrygonidae
Genus: Potamotrygon
Species: P. brachyura
Binomial name
Potamotrygon brachyura
(Albert Günther, 1880)

The short-tailed river stingray (Potamotrygon brachyura) is a species of river stingray (Potamotrygonidae) native to South America; they are known to inhabit Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina river basins. Growing to a size of 4.9 ft (1.5 m) and a weight of 459 lb (208 kg), they are hunted as food and for aquaria.[1][2]

Description

Short-tailed river stingrays are circular in shape and humped in the back.[3] The biggest recorded specimen weighed 661 lb (300 kg),[2][4] which makes them the largest of the Potamotrygon species.[2] They have a dark pattern on their backs, probably used as camouflage.[3] The ray's tail is very muscular and thick, covered with short spines at the base and a venomous sting at the end.[5]

Distribution

They are mainly distributed throughout the Paraná-Paraguay River (including Cuiabá river in Brazil), Uruguay basins and Argentina.[6]

Lifestyle

Female stingrays give birth to up to 19 fully formed young stingrays at one time.[2] The pups start off eating plankton and then move on to consume small mollusks, crustaceans, the larvae of aquatic insects, and fish.[2]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/161687/0
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 http://animal.discovery.com/fish/river-monsters/short-tailed-river-stingray.html
  3. 1 2 River Monsters, First Edition, Da Capo Press, 2011, p. 165
  4. ↑ Fishing World Records
  5. ↑ River Monsters, First Edition, Da Capo Press, 2011, p. 162
  6. ↑ http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=53772
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