Roughtail stingray

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Roughtail stingray
Roughtail stingray (Bathytoshia centroura) at McGrail Bank, Gulf of Mexico
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Dasyatidae
Subfamily: Dasyatinae
Genus: Bathytoshia
Species:
B. centroura
Binomial name
Bathytoshia centroura
(Mitchill, 1815)
Range of the roughtail stingray before reclassification of the eastern Atlantic population
Synonyms[2]
  • Dasyatis aspera (Cuvier, 1816)
  • Dasyatis centroura (Mitchill, 1815)
  • Dasybatus marinus Garman, 1913
  • Pastinaca acanthura Gronow, 1854
  • Pastinaca aspera Cuvier, 1816
  • Raia gesneri Cuvier, 1829
  • Raja centroura Mitchill, 1815
  • Trygon aldrovandi Risso, 1827
  • Trygon brucco Bonaparte, 1834
  • Trygon centrura (Mitchill, 1815)
  • Trygon spinosissima Duméril, 1865
  • Trygon thalassia Müller & Henle, 1841

The roughtail stingray (Bathytoshia centroura) is a

range
.

Often found lying on the bottom buried in sediment, the roughtail stingray is a

aplacental viviparous, with the embryos receiving nourishment initially from yolk, and later from histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. The venomous tail spine of the roughtail stingray is potentially dangerous to humans. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) has listed this species as vulnerable overall.

Taxonomy and phylogeny

The first description of the roughtail stingray was published by American

types, and named the new species Raja centroura, from the Greek centoro ("pricker") in reference to its thorns. Subsequent authors moved this species to the genus Dasyatis.[3][6] This ray may also be referred to as rough-tailed stingray, rough-tailed northern stingray, or thorny stingray.[7][8]

The

Bathytoshia lata.[11]

Distribution and habitat

The roughtail stingray is broadly but discontinuously distributed in the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean. It occurs from the

Bahamas, and the northeastern Gulf of Mexico; there are also scattered reports from Venezuela to Argentina and on the Barrier reef in Belize. A single record from Kollam, India was likely a misidentification.[1]

One of the deepest-diving stingrays, the roughtail stingray has been recorded to a depth of 274 m (899 ft) in the Bahamas.

sessile invertebrates), and also frequents adjacent open areas of sand or mud.[8] Rays in the northwestern Atlantic do not usually enter brackish water.[12][13]

The favored temperature range of the roughtail stingray is 15–22 °C (59–72 °F), which is the most important factor determining its distribution. It conducts seasonal

estuaries, though preserving the north-south gradient of body sizes. Pregnant females tend to be found apart from other individuals.[8][14]

Description

Line drawing of a stingray from above
The roughtail stingray is characterized by the angular shape of its disc and the thorns over its body and tail.

The roughtail stingray has a diamond-shaped

pectoral fin disk 1.2–1.3 times as wide as long, with straight to gently sinuous margins, rather angular outer corners, and a moderately long, obtuse snout. The eyes are proportionally smaller than other stingrays in its range and immediately followed by larger spiracles. There is a curtain of skin between the nostrils with a finely fringed posterior margin. The mouth is bow-shaped with a row of six papillae (nipple-like structures) across the floor. The seven upper and 12–14 lower tooth rows at the center are functional, though the total number of tooth rows is much greater. The teeth are arranged with a quincunx pattern into flattened surfaces; each has a tetragonal base with a blunt crown in juveniles and females, and a pointed cusp in adult males.[12][15]

The pelvic fins have nearly straight margins and angular tips. The tail is long and whip-like, measuring some 2.5 times the length of the disc. A long, saw-toothed spine is placed atop the tail at around half a disc length back from the tail base; sometimes one or two replacement spines are also present in front of the existing one. Behind the spine, there is a long ventral fin fold that is much lower than that of the southern stingray. Individuals under 46–48 cm (18–19 in) across have completely smooth skin. Larger rays develop increasing numbers of distinctive tubercles or bucklers (flat-based thorns) over the middle of the back from the snout to the tail base, as well as dorsal and lateral rows of thorns on the tail. The bucklers vary in size, with the largest of equal diameter to the eye, and may bear up to three thorns each. This species is a uniform dark brown or olive above, and off-white below without dark fin margins.[12][15] Among the largest members of its family, the roughtail stingray can reach 2.6 m (8.5 ft) across, 4.3 m (14 ft) long, and 360 kg (800 lb) in weight.[16][17] Females grow larger than males.[14]

Biology and ecology

The roughtail stingray is reportedly not highly active, spending much time buried in the sediment. It is a

polychaete worms are the most important prey.[8]

tapeworms Acanthobothrium woodsholei,[20] Anthocephalum centrurum,[21] Lecanicephalum sp.,[22] Oncomegas wageneri,[23] Polypocephalus sp.,[22] Pterobothrium senegalense,[24] and Rhinebothrium maccallumi,[25] the monogenean Dendromonocotyle centrourae,[26] and the leech Branchellion torpedinis.[27]

Like other stingrays, the roughtail stingray is

gestation period of 9–11 months, females give birth to 4–6 (typically five) young in fall or early winter. The newborns measure 34–37 cm (13–15 in) across.[8]
Males and females mature at 130–150 cm (51–59 in) and 140–160 cm (55–63 in) across respectively,

Human interactions

A stingray on the deck of a ship, surrounded by other caught fish and fishery workers
A roughtail stingray caught in the Gulf of Mexico; this was fished from United States waters.

With its large size and long,

Least Concern worldwide, while noting that as a large, slow-reproducing species it is susceptible to population depletion.[1]

In the northwestern Atlantic, the roughtail stingray is listed under Least Concern; it is not targeted or utilized by

landings of this species are decreasing, leading to an assessment of Vulnerable.[1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T104065040A3122808.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Bailly, Nicolas (2017). "Bathytoshia centroura (Mitchill, 1815)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Eagle, D. Biological Profiles: Roughtail Stingray. Florida Museum of Natural History Ichthyology Department. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
  4. ^ Mitchill, S.L. (1815). "The fishes of New York described and arranged". Transactions of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York. 1: 355–492.
  5. ISBN 978-0-520-01831-0
    .
  6. ^ Eschmeyer, W.N. (ed.) centroura, Raja. Catalog of Fishes electronic version (February 19, 2010). Retrieved on March 23, 2010.
  7. ^ a b c Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2009). "Dasyatis centroura" in FishBase. March 2009 version.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Struhsaker, P. (April 1969). "Observations on the Biology and Distribution of the Thorny Stingray, Dasyatis Centroura (Pisces: Dasyatidae)". Bulletin of Marine Science. 19 (2): 456–481.
  9. ^
    S2CID 85657403
    .
  10. ^ de Almeida Leao Vaz, L.; C.R. Porto Carreiro; L.R. Goulart-Filho & M.A.A. Furtado-Neto (2006). "Phylogenetic relationships in rays (Dasyatis, Elasmobranchii) from Ceara State, Brazil". Arquivos de Ciencias do Mar. 39: 86–88.
  11. PMID 27470808
    .
  12. ^ a b c d e f Bigelow, H.B. & W.C. Schroeder (1953). Fishes of the Western North Atlantic, Part 2. Sears Foundation for Marine Research, Yale University. pp. 352–362.
  13. ISBN 978-3-925919-33-6
    .
  14. ^
    S2CID 19670885
    .
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0-292-75206-1
    .
  16. S2CID 84139793
    .
  17. ^ Lang, I. (November 26, 2013). "Monstrous 800 lb roughtail stingray, not hookskate, caught off Miami Beach". National Monitor. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
  18. ^
    JSTOR 1440016
    .
  19. ^ Schwartz, F.J. (2004). "Five species of sharksuckers (family Echeneidae) in North Carolina". Journal of the North Carolina Academy of Science. 120 (2): 44–49.
  20. JSTOR 3276123
    .
  21. S2CID 45969813
    .
  22. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7484-0903-7
    .
  23. S2CID 36182840
    .
  24. doi:10.1071/IT9960617
    .
  25. JSTOR 3277613
    .
  26. ^ Cheung, P. & W. Brent (1993). "A new dendromonocotylinid (monogenean) from the skin of the roughtail stingray, Dasyatis centroura Mitchill". Journal of Aquariculture and Aquatic Sciences. 6 (3): 63–68.
  27. doi:10.1080/00222937500770531
    .

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