Dasyatis pastinaca
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays)
Dasyatidae (Whiptail Stingrays)
Dasyatis
Dasyatis pastinaca
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: other. Description: A large stingray; disc rhombic, its anterior margins forming an obtuse angle (Ref. 81259). Dorsal surface naked, except for a more or less well developed mid-dorsal row of thorny tubercles extending from nape to sting-base (Ref. 81259). Tail long and whiplike, slightly rough behind the sting, with a long dorsal ridge extending backwards from the sting, and a long, but low, ventral fold (Ref. 81259).
Colouration: Back greyish-green to greenish-brown; belly whitish, pectoral margins dark (Ref. 81259).
Distribution
East Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Black Sea, from the North Sea to Angola.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 5-200 m. Found in: estuaries, coral reefs.
Biology
A coastal species, which enters coastal lagoons, shallow bays and estuaries (Ref. 81259). Found over sandy and muddy bottoms, sometimes near rocky reefs (Ref. 12951). Feeds on bottom fishes, crustaceans and mollusks. Ovoviviparous, gestation period about 4 months and 4-7 young are produced. Wings marketed smoked, dried-salted, and also used for fishmeal and oil. Harmful to shellfish banks; dangerous to bathers and fishers due to its poisonous spine. Barbed poison spine is a modified denticle that can be 35cm long, shed occasionally and replaced (Ref. 35388). Maximum reported width about 150 cm (Ref. 81259).
Max length: 69.5 cm WD; max weight: 14602 g.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); mating system: monogamy; bearers (internal live bearers); parental care: maternal. Exhibit ovoviparity (aplacental viviparity), with embryos feeding initially on yolk, then receiving additional nourishment from the mother by indirect absorption of uterine fluid enriched with mucus, fat or protein through specialised structures (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2020-08-04. Resilience: Very low (Fec=4-7).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Bauchot, M.-L. (1987) Raies et autres batoides. p. 845-886. In W. Fischer, M.L. Bauchot and M. Schneider (eds.) Fiches FAO d'identificationpour les besoins de la pêche. (rev. 1). Mèditerranée et mer Noire. Zone de pêche 37. Vol. II. Commission des Communautés Européennes and FAO, Rome.
Brito, A. (1991) Catalogo de los pesces de las Islas Canarias. Francisco Lemus, la Laguna. 230 p.
Michael, S.W. (1993) Reef sharks and rays of the world. A guide to their identification, behavior, and ecology. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California. 107 p.
Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds (1997) Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond., Ser. B: Biol. Sci. 264:1309-1315.
Séret, B. (2003) Dasyatidae. p. 81-96. In D. Paugy, C. Lévêque and G.G Teugels (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of West Africa Volume 1. Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 40. Institut de recherche de développement, Paris, France, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France and Musée royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, Belgium, 457p.
Capapé, C., F. Hemida, J.-P. Quignard, M.M.B. Amor and C. Reynaud (2008) Biological observations on a rare deep-sea shark, Dalatias licha (Chondrichthyes: Dalatiidae), off the Maghreb coast south-western Mediterranean). Pan-American Journal of Aquatic Sciences 3(3):355-360.
Jabado, R.W., E. Chartrain, G. De Bruyne, D. Derrick, M. Dia, M. Diop, P. Doherty, G.H.L. Leurs, K. Metcalfe, N. Pacoureau, J.D. Pires, S. Ratão, I. Seidu, F. Serena, A.-L. Soares, A. Tamo, W.J. VanderWright and A.B. Williams (2021) Dasyatis pastinaca. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T161453A124488102. Accessed on 17 November 2022. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T161453A124488102.en
Saglam, H., A.K. Orhan, S. Kutlu and I. & Aydin (2010) Diet and feeding strategy of the common stingray Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) on the Turkish coast of southeastern Black Sea. Cah. Biol. Mar. 51(1):37-44.
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