River stingray
| River stingrays | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Ocellate river stingray, Potamotrygon motoro | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Myliobatiformes |
| Family: |
Potamotrygonidae Garman, 1877 |
| Genera | |
Heliotrygon
Paratrygon
Plesiotrygon
Potamotrygon
Styracura
River stingrays or freshwater stingrays are Neotropical freshwater fishes of the Potamotrygonidae family in the order Myliobatiformes, one of the four orders of batoids, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. River stingrays are found in rivers in South America draining into the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean as far south as the River Plate in Argentina (freshwater stingrays in Africa, Asia and Australia are in another family, Dasyatidae). Each river system has its own endemic stingrays. A single marine genus, Styracura, of the tropical West Atlantic and East Pacific are also part of Potamotrygonidae. They are generally brownish, greyish or black, often with a mottled or speckled pattern, have disc widths ranging from 25 to 200 centimetres (0.8–6.6 ft) and venomous tail stingers. There are more than thirty species in five genera.
They are native to northern, central and eastern South America, living in rivers that drain into the Caribbean, and into the Atlantic as far south as the Río de la Plata in Argentina. Generally, each species is native to a single river basin, and the greatest species richness can be found in the Amazon, especially the Rio Negro, Tapajós, and basins (each home to 8–10 species).
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Wikipedia