Rays Codexery

Thorntail stingray

Last updated

Thorntail stingray

Mark Whatmough · via Wikipedia: Thorntail stingray · CC BY 2.0

The IUCN listed this species as Data Deficient in 2008 due to unknown population impacts from fishing.[1] The thorntail stingray is among the largest in its family, with a recorded maximum length of 4 m and a weight of 214 kg.[2] Although its venomous spine can cause a painful wound, the ray does not show aggression toward people.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassChondrichthyes
  4. SubclassElasmobranchii
  5. OrderMyliobatiformes
  6. FamilyDasyatidae
  7. GenusDasyatis
  8. SpeciesDasyatis thetidis

Named by J. D. Ogilby, 1899

Close relatives

Other species of Dasyatis with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Thorntail stingray (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 212247 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Vulnerable (VU)

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU▲ this species
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Thorntail stingray and a personA 4 m long thorntail stingray drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.4 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 4 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Thorntail stingray

Where the thorntail stingray has been recorded

Where the thorntail stingray has been recorded113 mapped locations from 690 GBIF occurrence records

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (690 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 23 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 3 isolated far-off records not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)

Last updated 2026-10-08 from the source article.

Biology and range

The thorntail stingray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc about one-fourth wider than long.[2] It prefers shallow coastal areas with soft sediment, such as estuaries, lagoons, and areas around rocky or coral reefs.[3] The species has been recorded at depths down to 440 m.[4] Benthic invertebrates and bony fishes make up its food.[1]

During summer, this ray sometimes forms large aggregations.[1]

What the specialist sources record

The WoRMS database records Dasyatis thetidis as an unaccepted name, with the accepted name being Bathytoshia lata.[5] The GBIF backbone taxonomy lists Dasyatis thetidis as an accepted species and holds 697 occurrence records for this taxon.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Thorntail stingray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stevens, J.D., "Dasyatis thetidis", 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Thorntail stingray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Waite, E.R., "Scientific results of the trawling expedition of H.M.C.S. "Thetis," off the coast of New South Wales, in February and March, 1898 (Part 1)", Memoirs of the Australian Museum, Sydney, December 23, 1899, p. 2; Smith, J.L.B., "Smiths' Sea Fishes", Struik, 2003, p. 137 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Thorntail stingray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Smith, J.L.B., "Smiths' Sea Fishes", Struik, 2003, p. 137; Fricke, R., "Fishes of the Mascarene Islands (Réunion, Mauritius, Rodriguez)", Koeltz Scientific Books, 1999, p. 31; Jabado, R.W., Chartrain, E., De Bruyne, G., Derrick, D., Dia, M., Diop, M., Doherty, P., Finucci, B., Leurs, G.H.L., Metcalfe, K., Pires, J.D., Seidu, I., Soares, A.-L., Tamo, A., VanderWright, W.J. & Williams, A.B., "Ba; Daley, R.K., "Field Guide to Australian Sharks & Rays", CSIRO Publishing, 2002, p. 64 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Thorntail stingray" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jabado, R.W., Chartrain, E., De Bruyne, G., Derrick, D., Dia, M., Diop, M., Doherty, P., Finucci, B., Leurs, G.H.L., Metcalfe, K., Pires, J.D., Seidu, I., Soares, A.-L., Tamo, A., VanderWright, W.J. & Williams, A.B., "Ba; Michael, S.W., "Reef Sharks & Rays of the World", Sea Challengers, 1993, p. 86 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. World Register of Marine Species, Dasyatis thetidis (AphiaID 212247). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  6. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence index, Dasyatis thetidis (taxon key 2419529). CC BY 4.0 (backbone); counts are facts. gbif.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Thorntail stingray (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Dasyatidae)

Short-tail stingray Bathytoshia brevicaudata, Atlantic stingray Hypanus sabinus, Black-spotted whipray Maculabatis astra, Blackedge whipray Himantura marginata

More in Rays

Marbled whiprayRoughback whiprayWhite-edge freshwater whiprayColares stingrayDaisy stingrayNiger stingrayPearl stingrayPincushion raySharpsnout stingrayBennett's stingrayBlackish stingrayChinese stingray

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. To which genus does the thorntail stingray belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Dasyatis.

2. To which biological family does the thorntail stingray belong?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Dasyatidae.

3. Who first scientifically described the thorntail stingray?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is James Douglas Ogilby.

Answers checked against the source article

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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