Pteroplatytrygon violacea
Pelagic Stingray
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GNR
Collection Details
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays)
Dasyatidae (Whiptail Stingrays)
Pteroplatytrygon
Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Pelagic Stingray)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Broad, wedge-shaped disc; moderately long, very obtuse snout; long, tapering tail; preorbital length 8-15% of disc width; maximum snout angle 158-169°; anterior disc forms broad arch; outer corners abruptly rounded; posterolateral margin straight to slightly convex; mouth slightly arched; upper jaw very slightly projecting at symphysis; lower jaw very slightly indented at symphysis; 10-12 fleshy papillae on floor of mouth; 28-34 tooth rows in upper jaw; teeth with quadrangular bases and low acute cusps; pelvic fin anterior margin more or less straight, 60-70% of distance from origin to posterior margin; tail relatively thick at base, tapering to origin of serrated spine; ventral tail fold narrow, extending from origin to tip of serrated spine; larger specimens with denticles dorsally, naked ventrally; row of thorns from nuchal region to origin of serrated spine
Dark purple to dark green dorsally; slightly lighter grayish purple to greenish blue ventrally
Distribution
Grand Banks and Flemish Cap to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; northern Gulf of Mexico off Texas; Lesser Antilles
Northern Gulf of Mexico off Texas
Habitat Associations
Pelagic; edge of continental and insular shelves to oceanic waters
Biology
Squids, coelenterates, medusae, crustaceans, and bony fishes; many prey associated with pelagic Sargassum weed
Maximum known size is 800 mm DW; size of young at birth unknown
Litters consist of 9 to 13 young; males mature at 478 mm DW; females mature at 400-500 mm DW
Found in open, tropical and warm temperate waters usually in the first 100 m. Possibly the only totally pelagic member of the family (Ref. 6871). Feeds on coelenterates (including medusae), squid, decapod crustaceans, and fish. Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Venomous spine on tail. Common catch of the pelagic tuna (and shark) longline and gillnet fisheries (drift, Ref. 75025) operating throughout the region (Ref. 58048); also by purse-seine and bottom trawls (Ref. 75025). Utilized for its meat and sometimes cartilage (Ref.58048). Total length 110 TL (80 cm WD) (Ref. 9254).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-11-09. Resilience: Very low (K=0.18 (captivity); Fec=1-9 (could probably have 2 litters per year)).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by combination of characters
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1962
Bigelow and Schroeder 1965
Scott and Tibbo 1968
Wilson and Beckett 1970
Branstetter and McEachran 1983
McEachran and Capape 1984a
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Scott and Scott 1988
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
McEachran, J.D. and C. Capapé (1984) Dasyatidae. p. 197-202. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1.
Compagno, L.J.V. (1986) Dasyatidae. p. 135-142. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Compagno, L.J.V., D.A. Ebert and M.J. Smale (1989) Guide to the sharks and rays of southern Africa. New Holland (Publ.) Ltd., London. 158 p.
Compagno, L.J.V. (1999) Checklist of living elasmobranchs. p. 471-498. In W.C. Hamlett (ed.) Sharks, skates, and rays: the biology of elasmobranch fishes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Maryland.
Ebert, D.A. (2003) Sharks, rays and chimaeras of California. California Natural History Guides No. 71. University of California Press. 284 p.
Mundy, B.C. (2005) Checklist of the fishes of the Hawaiian Archipelago. Bishop Mus. Bull. Zool. (6):1-704.
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