Short-tailed river stingray

Short-tailed river stingray
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Order:	Myliobatiformes
Family:	Potamotrygonidae
Genus:	Potamotrygon
Species:	P. brachyura
Binomial name
Potamotrygon brachyura (Albert Günther, 1880)

The short-tailed river stingray (Potamotrygon brachyura) is a species of river stingray (Potamotrygonidae) native to South America; they are known to inhabit Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina river basins. Growing to a size of 4.9 ft (1.5 m) and a weight of 459 lb (208 kg), they are hunted as food and for aquaria.

Description

Short-tailed river stingrays are circular in shape and humped in the back. The biggest recorded specimen weighed 661 lb (300 kg), which makes them the largest of the Potamotrygon species. They have a dark pattern on their backs, probably used as camouflage. The ray's tail is very muscular and thick, covered with short spines at the base and a venomous sting at the end.

Distribution

They are mainly distributed throughout the Paraná-Paraguay River (including Cuiabá river in Brazil), Uruguay basins and Argentina.

Lifestyle

Female stingrays give birth to up to 19 fully formed young stingrays at one time. The pups start off eating plankton and then move on to consume small mollusks, crustaceans, the larvae of aquatic insects, and fish.

External links

• fishbase.org
• iucnredlist.org
• Fishing World Records
• animal.discovery.com
• Species description of Potamotrygon brachyura at www.shark-references.com

• http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/161687/0
• http://animal.discovery.com/fish/river-monsters/short-tailed-river-stingray.html
• River Monsters, First Edition, Da Capo Press, 2011, p. 165
• Fishing World Records
• River Monsters, First Edition, Da Capo Press, 2011, p. 162
• http://www.fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=53772