Common Name
Sharpsnout Stingray
Year Described
Boeseman, 1948
Identification
A long-snouted species of Dasyatis with a broad, almost rounded disk. Eyes and spiracle relatively small. Tips of pectoral fins bluntly rounded. Pre-orbital length much longer than distance between the spiracles (>35% SL), with pronounced concave margins of snout. Snout pointed and very long. The dorsal surface has a broad patch of medial denticles and a medial line of tubercles. Additional denticles on the interorbital space are often present. Pelvic fins very short but extremely broad in width, often extending beyond lateral disk margins. Ventral finflap low but much more pronounced than dorsal finflap.
Color
Uniformly dark brown above and pale below.
Size
Maximum size to 150cm DW.
Habitat
Shallow coastal waters (<80m) on sandy bottoms.
Range
Venezuela to Brazil.
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
Provisionally placed in the genus Fontitrygon by Last et al. (2016) with other large Atlantic estuarine rays.