Thorntail stingray

Lore & Background

The thorntail stingray was originally described by Australian ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby from four specimens collected off New South Wales during the 1898 scientific expedition of the trawler HMCS Thetis, after which the species was named. Its account was published in 1899 in the journal Memoirs of the Australian Museum. Molecular data from 2012 has confirmed that this species is a population of the broad stingray.

This bottom-dweller inhabits soft-bottomed habitats such as lagoons, estuaries, and reefs, and is found off southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. It has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc, a very long tail with a fin fold underneath, and numerous stout, sharp thorns on its upper surface and tail. Uniformly dark above and light below, it can be differentiated from the similar short-tail stingray by its longer tail, presence of thorns, and absence of white dots on the disc.

The diet of the thorntail stingray consists of benthic invertebrates and bony fishes. It is aplacental viviparous, with embryos sustained by histotroph. Large groups have been seen inside caves and beneath rocky arches off New Zealand, and it gathers in warm, shallow waters during summer, possibly for reproduction.

Did You Know?

• It can reach a total length of at least 4 m (13 ft) and a weight of 214 kg (472 lb).
• Off New Zealand, both the thorntail stingray and the short-tail stingray regularly fall prey to local killer whales.
• A thorntail stingray with a width of 1.67 m and length of 2.35 m was caught and released off Warner Beach, South Africa in January 2020.