Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays) >
Potamotrygonidae (River stingrays) > Potamotrygoninae
Etymology: Potamotrygon: Greek, potamos = river + Greek, trygon = a sting ray (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Müller & Henle.
Issue
Authorship of species is credited to Müller & Henle (1841) and not Naterrer (who collected the type specimen) as in Rosa (1985a). A widespread species that may require further subdivision after more study. Studies of its reproductive biology indicate that females attain sexual maturity between 24 and 32 cm DW (males between 20 and 30 cm DW), and may produce from three to 21 embryos per gestation (Achenbach & Achencbach, 1976) or only six or seven (Thorson et al., 1983b; these differences may be populational). Larger specimens may weigh 10 kg. This species has been captively bred in aquaria, but is still the most comercially imported species by the aquarium industry. Additional references: Bertin (1939), Castex & Castello (1970b), Achenbach & Achenbach (1976), Thorson et al. (1983b), Sérét & McEachran (1986), Ortega & Vari (1986), Paepke & Schmidt (1988), Barriga (1991), Compagno & Cook (1995), Lasso et al. (1997a), Ferreira et al. (1998), Britski et al. (1999).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 5.0 - 6.0; dH range: 10 - ?; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 24°C - 26°C (Ref. 2060)
South America: Uruguay, Paraná-Paraguay, Orinoco, and Amazon River basins.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 36687); max. published weight: 34.2 kg (Ref. 85107)
Found in freshwater rivers. It is an extremely dangerous species. Maximum length reported in Axelrod et al., 1991 (Ref. 6398) is 100 cm TL.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
16 pups were born by one female in captivity (Ref. 57489).
Ortega, H. and R.P. Vari, 1986. Annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Peru. Smithson. Contrib. Zool. (437):1-25. (Ref. 6329)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 4716)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Generation time: 6.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec=16).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).
