DiscoverSpeciesSharks and rays
Deepwater stingray
Plesiobatis daviesi
- Usual depth308–702 m
- Water temperature16–29 °C
- Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
The deepwater stingray or giant stingaree is a species of stingray and the sole member of the family Plesiobatidae. It is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific, typically over fine sediments on the upper continental slope at depths of 275–680 m (900–2,230 ft). This species reaches 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in length and 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in width. It has an oval pectoral fin disc with a long, flexible, broad-angled snout. Most of the entire latter half of its tail supports a distinctively long, slender, leaf-shaped caudal fin. Its coloration is dark above and white below, and its skin is almost completely covered by tiny dermal denticles.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Deepwater stingray”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
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Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 1 records
- February: 1 records
- March: 8 records
- April: 1 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 6 records
- July: 4 records
- August: 4 records
- September: 17 records
- October: 14 records
- November: 16 records
- December: 1 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 308–702 m · Deepest record: 2,939.8 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 16–29 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Deepwater stingray, deepwater stingray, Deep-water stingray, Deepwater stingray, Giant Stingaree
Names in 3 more languages
- German
- Tiefwasser-Stachelrochen
- Japanese
- Usuei, ウスエイ
- Thai
- ปลากระเบนน้ำลึก
Other scientific names: Urolophus marmoratus, Urotrygon davesi, Urotrygon daviesi, Urotrygon daviesis
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 125 open-data records from 1966 to 2024.
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