Dasyatis americana, Southern Stingray [+]

Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Elasmobranchii Order Myliobatiformes Family Dasyatidae Genus Dasyatis species: Dasyatis americana [+ITIS +WoRMS]

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Description & Behavior

The southern stingray, Dasyatis americana (Hildebrand and Schroeder, 1928), measures about 2 m from wingtip to wingtip and weighs up to 136 kg. The disc, or body, of the southern stingray has sharp corners and short spines on the upper surface and is olive brown/green in color in adults, gray in juveniles. The underside of the disk is whitish in color. The tail has a long barb used for defense. They are observed singly, in pairs, or in migrating schools.

World Range & Habitat

The southern stingray, Dasyatis americana, can be found in the western Atlantic from as far north as the coast of New Jersey, around the northern Gulf of Mexico and south to southern Brazil. These stingrays prefer sandy bottoms, seagrass beds, lagoons and reefs, often near cleaning stations where they are cleaned of parasites by the bluehead wrasse and Spanish hogfish.

» GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [Tips] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) (World Distribution) [about]

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

The southern stingray primarily feeds at night on on bivalves and worms as well as crustaceans and small fishes. They feed by flapping their wings to create depressions in the sand exposing invertebrates and small fishes.

Life History

Dasyatis americana is ovoviviparous. This species mating habits include distinct pairing with embrace where the male mounts the female dorsally.

Ovoviviparous: eggs are retained within the body of the female in a brood chamber where the embryo develops, receiving nourishment from a yolk sac. This is the method of reproduction for the "live-bearing" fishes where the pups hatch from their egg capsules inside the mother's uterus and are born soon afterward. Also known as aplacental viviparous.