Diamond stingray

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Diamond stingray
A dark brown ray swimming over a live-bottom habitat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Dasyatidae
Subfamily: Dasyatinae
Genus: Hypanus
Species:
H. dipterurus
Binomial name
Hypanus dipterurus
World map with blue shading along the western coast of the Americas from Baja California to Peru, and around the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands
Range of the diamond stingray
Synonyms
  • Dasyatis dipterura (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880)
  • Dasyatis hawaiensis Jenkins, 1903
  • Dasybatis dipterura Jordan & Gilbert, 1880

The diamond stingray (Hypanus dipterurus) is a

pectoral fin disc that is plain brown or gray above, with rows of tubercles along the midline and on the "shoulders". The long, whip-like tail has both dorsal and ventral fin folds, which distinguish this ray from the closely similar longtail stingray
(H. longa). It typically grows to 1 m (3.3 ft) across.

When searching for food, diamond stingrays may form groups of up to hundreds of individuals. It is most active at night and preys mainly on burrowing

artisanal fishers in Latin America, particularly in Mexico where it is one of the most economically important rays. This is assessed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Though innocuous towards humans, the diamond stingray's long, venomous
tail spine is potentially dangerous.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

In 1880, the diamond stingray was described twice by three American

ichthyologists: as Dasybatus dipterurus by David Starr Jordan and Charles Henry Gilbert in Proceedings of the United States National Museum, and as Trygon brevis by Samuel Garman in Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology.[2][3] Jordan and Gilbert's account was published in May while Garman's was published in October, making dipterurus (feminine dipterura) the correct name as it was published first. However, when Garman synonymized the two in 1913 he inappropriately gave precedence to brevis, leading to long-standing confusion.[4] Both Dasybatus and Trygon were later synonymized with the genus Dasyatis, but many authors still listed D. brevis in place of or in addition to D. dipterura.[5][6] Garman also synonymized the Hawaiian stingray (D. hawaiensis) with D. dipterura in 1913, which has since been followed by most authors but requires more study for confirmation.[7]

The species

taxa in their genus, after the common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca).[8]

Distribution and habitat

A ray in shallow water off a beach
During the summer, the diamond stingray is common in the shallows off beaches.

The diamond stingray is found in the eastern

temperate species.[1]

A

inshore waters, the diamond stingray favors sandy or muddy bottoms, often near rocky reefs or kelp forests. Off southern California, it usually occurs from the intertidal zone to a depth of 7 m (23 ft) during the summer, shifting to depths of 13–18 m (43–59 ft) during late fall and winter.[1] For unknown reasons, it prefers to overwinter in kelp forests rather than sandy flats.[6] Off Chile, the diamond stingray occurs at a similar depth of 3–30 m (10–100 ft). On the other hand, this species has been reported from as far down as 355 m (1,165 ft) off Hawaii, which if accurate would suggest that it utilizes a much greater range of depths than previously realized.[1][9]

Description

A ray lying on the bottom, partially buried in sand, next to a reef outcrop
A distinguishing trait of the diamond stingray is the presence of fin folds both above and below the tail.

The diamond stingray attains a disc width of 1 m (3.3 ft) or possibly 1.2 m (3.9 ft); females grow larger than males.

pectoral fin disc is rhomboid in shape, slightly wider than long, with angular outer corners and subtly convex margins. The snout is blunt-angled and non-projecting. The eyes are fairly large and immediately followed by the spiracles (paired respiratory openings). The mouth is strongly curved, containing 21–37 upper tooth rows and 23–44 lower tooth rows; the teeth are small and blunt, and arranged into flattened surfaces. Three or five papillae (nipple-like structures) are found in a row across the floor of the mouth.[6][7][11]

The whip-like tail generally measures up to one and half times the length of the disc, and bears one (more if replacements have grown in) long, slender, serrated spine on the upper surface, closer to the base than the tip.[6][10][12] Behind the spine, there are long dorsal and ventral fin folds that rise gradually, reaching a relatively high apex before sloping down abruptly.[7] The presence of the upper fin fold separates this species from the similar longtail stingray (D. longa), which shares most of its range. However, the tail is often damaged, in which case differentiating the two species in the field becomes all but impossible.[13] Young rays have completely smooth skin, while adults develop a row of low tubercles along the midline of the back, flanked by two shorter rows on the "shoulders". The tail also becomes covered in prickles.[11] This species is a uniform olive to brown to gray above, darkening to black on the tail, and off-white below.[6][13]

Biology and ecology

A brown ray swimming just above a fine gravel bottom
The diamond stingray may be found alone, but more often forms groups of varying size.

The diamond stingray is most active at night, spending much of the day buried in sand with only its eyes protruding. When foraging for food, it may be solitary but more commonly forms groups numbering up to the hundreds. There is strong segregation by sex and age. This species feeds on

polychaete worms.[1]

The typical hunting strategy of the diamond stingray is to cruise just above the

tapeworms Acanthobothrium bullardi, A. dasi, A. rajivi, and A. soberoni,[15] Anthocephalum currani,[16] Parachristianella tiygonis,[17] and Pseudochristianello elegantissima,[18] the flukes Anaporrhutum euzeti and Probolitrema mexicana,[19][20] and the monogenean Listrocephalos kearni.[21]

Like other stingrays, the diamond stingray is

maximum lifespan has been estimated at least 19 years for males and 28 years for females.[22]

Human interactions

At least one fatality off southern California has resulted from the long, venomous tail spine of the diamond stingray. However, it is not aggressive and will usually flee given the opportunity. This ray is not found off the United States in sufficient numbers to be economically important. Elsewhere in its range, it is caught in substantial numbers for human consumption, both intentionally and as bycatch; the pectoral fins or "wings" are sold fresh or filleted and salted.[6] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes that the diamond stingray's low reproductive productivity renders it susceptible to population depletion, and assesses it as Vulnerable overall.[1]

In

shrimp farms may pose an additional threat to this species in the region. No management schemes have yet been enacted for this species.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T60152A80677563.en
    . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. doi:10.5479/si.00963801.3-106.23
    .
  3. ^ Garman, S. (October 1880). "New species of selachians in the museum collection". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 6 (11): 167–172.
  4. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.43732
    .
  5. ^ a b Eschmeyer, W. N. (ed.) dipterurus, Dasybatus Archived 2012-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Catalog of Fishes electronic version (February 19, 2010). Retrieved on March 25, 2010.
  6. ^
    ISBN 0-520-23484-7
    .
  7. ^ a b c Nishida, K. and K. Nakaya (1990). "Taxonomy of the genus Dasyatis (Elasmobranchii, Dasyatididae) from the North Pacific." in Pratt, H.L., S.H. Gruber and T. Taniuchi. Elasmobranchs as living resources: advances in the biology, ecology, systematics, and behaviour, and the status of fisheries. NOAA Technical Report, NMFS 90. pp. 327–346.
  8. S2CID 85657403
    .
  9. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2023). "Hypanus dipterurus" in FishBase. July 2023 version.
  10. ^
    ISBN 0-618-00212-X
    .
  11. ^ a b Jordan, D.S.; B.W. Evermann (1896). The Fishes of North and Middle America (Part 1). Government Printing Office. p. 85.
  12. ISBN 0-8050-0733-4
    .
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-8047-2289-7
    .
  14. JSTOR 1445875
    .
  15. S2CID 43915565
    .
  16. S2CID 7438797
    .
  17. S2CID 83700913
    .
  18. PMID 17285847
    .
  19. ISBN 2-914518-36-6
    .
  20. PMID 13295894
    .
  21. S2CID 37124160
    .
  22. ^
    doi:10.1071/MF06083
    .

External links

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