Hypanus americanus
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
There are no photos available for this taxon yet.
Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays)
Dasyatidae (Whiptail Stingrays)
Hypanus
Hypanus americanus
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.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
Learn more about our species accounts.
Characters
Body shape: other. Disk has sharp outer corners and irregular row of short spines on upper surface (Ref. 26938). Disk usually uniform dark brown above, grayer in young. Ventral finfold on tail long and high, dorsal finfold absent (Ref. 7251). Upper surface of disc gray, dark or olivaceous brown or olive green. Lower surface of disc white or whitish with an edging of gray or brown (Ref. 6902).
Distribution
Western Atlantic: New Jersey, USA and northern Gulf of Mexico to southern Brazil, including the Antilles (Ref. 3168).
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. reef-associated. depth range 0-53 m. Found in: estuaries, seagrass beds.
Biology
Found on sandy bottoms, seagrass beds, lagoons and the reef face (Ref. 12951). Common in bays and estuaries (Ref. 7251). Observed singly, in pairs and in aggregations (Ref. 12951). Buries in the sand during the day and forages at night, usually in seagrass beds (Ref. 12951). Feeds mainly on bivalves and worms and also takes shrimps, crabs and small fishes (Ref. 3168). Feeds by creating depressions in the sand to expose invertebrates and small fishes (Ref. 9710). Ovoviviparous, with 3-4 in a litter (Ref. 12951). May be found in cleaning stations where they are attended to by the bluehead wrasse and Spanish hogfish (Ref. 12951). Equipped with a well-developed serrated spine and capable of inflicting a painful laceration. Easily approached by divers (Ref. 9710).
Max length: 200.0 cm WD; common length: 90.0 cm WD; max weight: 135630 g; max age: 28 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). 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). Male mounts on female dorsally (Ref. 12951).
IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2019-06-21. Resilience: Low (tmax=28; Fec=3-4).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Randall, J.E. (1967) Food habits of reef fishes of the West Indies. Stud. Trop. Oceanogr. Miami 5:665-847.
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Stehmann, M., J.D. McEachran and R. Vergara R. (1978) Dasyatidae. In W. Fischer (ed.) FAO species identification sheets for fishery purposes. Western Central Atlantic (Fishing Area 31). Vol. 1. [pag. var.]. FAO, Rome.
Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder (1953) Sawfishes, guitarfishes, skates and rays. p. 1-514. In J. Tee-Van et al. (eds.) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part two. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 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.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
Last, P.R., W.T. White, M.R. de Carvalho, B. Séret, M.F.W. Stehmann and G.J.P. Naylor (2016) Rays of the world. CSIRO Publishing, Comstock Publishing Associates. i-ix + 1-790.
Comments On Hypanus americanus