Common Name
Roughtail Stingray
Year Described
Mitchill, 1815
Identification
A huge, short-snouted species of Dasyatis with a broad rhomboidal disk. Eyes and spiracle relatively small. Tips of pectoral fins subangular to pointed (not rounded). Pre-orbital length longer than distance between the spiracles, with slightly convex to straight margins of snout. The dorsal surface and tail is densely covered with denticles, with scattered larger bucklers and tubercles along the midline, giving the body a very rough texture. Tail relatively short and thick with multiple rows of tubercles. Additional denticles on the head are often present. Dorsal fin flap reduced to a low ridge. Ventral finflap well developed. Tail spine at base of tail. Pelvic fins project beyond disk margin.
Color
Dark brown, medium brown, or yellowish-brown above and pale below. Thin part of tail and finfolds black.
Size
Maximum size to over 260cm DW.
Habitat
Found on soft bottoms from 0-275m. Large specimens in deeper water.
Range
Bimodal distribution from Massachusetts to the Bahamas in the northern hemisphere and S. Brazil to Argentina in the southern hemisphere. Records in the eastern Atlantic refer to other species (Last et al, 2016).
References
Last, P. R., Naylor, G. J. P., & Manjaji-Matsumoto, B. M. 2016. A revised classification of the family Dasyatidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) based on new morphological and molecular insights. Zootaxa, 4139 (3): 345-368.
Santos, H.R.S. and M.R. de Carvalho. 2004. Description of a new species of whiptailed stingray from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (Chondrichthyes, Myliobatiformes, Dasyatidae). Boletim do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, Nova Série. Zoologia No. 516: 1-24.
Other Notes
References to Dasyatis hastata in this region refer to this species.
Moved to the genus Bathytoshia by Last et al. (2016). Studies of the populations in the north and south are needed given the existence of a separate species in the eastern Atlantic.