Common stingray (Dasyatis pastinaca)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Elasmobranchii · Order: Myliobatiformes · Family: Dasyatidae · Genus: Dasyatis.

Accepted name: Dasyatis pastinaca · Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 105851.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Dasyatis pastinacus (Linnaeus, 1758); Dasyatis pestinaca (Linnaeus, 1758); Dasyatis ujo Rafinesque, 1810; Dasybatus pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758); Pastinaca laevis Gronow, 1854; Pastinaca olivacea Swainson, 1839; Raja pastinaca Linnaeus, 1758; Trygon pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758); Trygon vulgaris Risso, 1827; Trygon vulgaris pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105851 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Dasyatis pastinaca. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 69.5 cm · Depth range: 5–200 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: other · Vulnerability index: 78.5 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: A coastal species, which enters coastal lagoons, shallow bays and estuaries (Ref. 81259). Found over sandy and muddy bottoms, sometimes near rocky reefs (Ref. 12951). Feeds on bottom fishes, crustaceans and mollusks. Ovoviviparous, gestation period about 4 months and 4-7 young are produced. Wings marketed smoked, dried-salted, and also used for fishmeal and oil. Harmful to shellfish banks; dangerous to bathers and fishers due to its poisonous spine. Barbed poison spine is a modified denticle that can be 35cm long, shed occasionally and replaced (Ref. 35388). Maximum reported width about 150 cm (Ref. 81259).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 2060) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Dasyatis-pastinaca.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

2,742 georeferenced occurrence records for Dasyatis pastinaca are published through GBIF from 56 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 266 distinct locations from a sample of 2,742 records, omitting 152 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: Spain (726); France (659); Netherlands (201); Portugal (194); Ireland (163).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2419543) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2419543&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=105851 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus, 1758) as Vulnerable (code VU). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 161453) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/161453/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2419543) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2419543/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The predominant prey of the common stingray are bottom-dwelling crustaceans, though it also takes molluscs, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It is aplacental viviparous: the embryos are nourished by yolk and later histotroph ("uterine milk") produced by the mother. Females bear 4–9 young twice per year in shallow water, after a gestation period of four months. The common stingray can inflict a painful, though rarely life-threatening, wound with its venomous tail spine. During classical antiquity, its sting was ascribed many mythical properties. This species is not sought after by commercial fisheries, but is taken in large numbers as bycatch and utilized for food, fishmeal, and liver oil. Its population is apparently dwindling across its range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses it as Vulnerable.

Well-documented since classical antiquity, the common stingray was known as trygon (τρυγών) to the ancient Greeks and as pastinaca to the ancient Romans. An old common name for this species, used in Great Britain since at least the 18th century, is "fire-flare" or "fiery-flare", which may refer to the reddish color of its meat.

The first formal scientific description of the common stingray, as Raja pastinaca, was authored by the father of taxonomy Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 tenth edition of Systema Naturae. It has since been placed in the genus Dasyatis. There are at least 25 earlier references to this ray in literature, under various non-binomial names such as Raja corpore glabro, aculeo longo anterius serrato in cauda apterygia, Pastinaca marina prima, and Pastinaca marina lævis. Many of these early accounts, including Linnaeus', also incorporated information from other species. Consequently, the designation of a lectotype is warranted in the interests of taxonomic stability, but this has yet to be enacted.

The blue stingray (Dasyatis chrysonota) of southern Africa has long been regarded as a variant of the common stingray. However, the common stingray lacks the blue markings of the other species and differs in morphological and meristic characters, which led the latter to be definitively recognized as a separate species by Paul Cowley and Leonard Compagno in 1993. The distinction between this species and the similar Tortonese's stingray (D. tortonesei) of the Mediterranean is poorly understood and may not be valid, requiring further investigation.

In 2001, Lisa Rosenberger published a phylogenetic analysis of 14 Dasyatis species, based on morphology. The common stingray was reported to be the most basal member of the genus, other than the bluespotted stingray (D. kuhlii) and pelagic stingray (D. violacea). However, D. violacea has generally been recognized as belonging to its own genus Pteroplatytrygon, and recently D. kuhlii has also been placed in a different genus, Neotrygon.

The common stingray is found throughout the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It also occurs, though in significantly lower numbers, in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean from southern Norway and the western Baltic Sea to Madeira and the Canary Islands. This bottom-dwelling species can be found from the shore to a depth of 200 m, though it is not usually found deeper than 60 m. It favors sandy or muddy bottoms in calm water, and is also sometimes encountered near rocky reefs or in estuaries, as it is tolerant of low salinity. Off the Azores, common stingrays are most abundant in summer and least abundant in winter, suggestive of a seasonal shift in range and/or depth as has been documented in other ray species.

The common stingray has been reported to reach a width of 1.4 m and a length of 2.5 m, though a width of 45 cm is more typical. The flattened pectoral fin disc is diamond-shaped and slightly wider than it is long, with narrowly rounded outer corners. The leading margins of the disc are almost straight and converge on a pointed, slightly protruding snout; the trailing margins of the disc are convex. The eyes are smaller than the spiracles (paired respiratory openings), which are placed closely behind. There are 28–38 upper tooth rows and 28–43 lower tooth rows; the teeth are small and blunt, and arranged into flattened surfaces. There are five papillae (nipple-like structures) across the floor of the mouth.

The tail is slender and whip-like, measuring approximately half as long as the disc. A stinging spine with strong serrations, measuring up to 35 cm long and equipped with a venom gland at its base, is positioned about a third of the distance along the tail. A second or even third spine may also be present, as the spines are regularly replaced and new spines grow in before existing ones have been shed. The tail behind the spine bears a low cutaneous fold on top and a short, deep fold underneath. The body and tail are smooth, save for a few dermal denticles on the leading edge of the disk; older individuals may also develop a row of bony knobs along the midline of the back. This species is a solid gray, brown, reddish, or olive-green above, and whitish below with dark fin margins. Young rays may have white spots.

The largest recorded common stingray specimen was found in 2016 in the İzmir Province of Turkey in the course of a study on trolling. Its fins had a width of 2.21 m, although its length could not be determined as the tail had been removed earlier.

Encountered singly or in "social" groups, the common stingray appears to segregate by sex to some degree and may be more active at night, tending to bury itself in sediment during daytime. It feeds on a wide variety of bottom-dwelling organisms, including crustaceans, cephalopods, bivalves, polychaete worms, and small bony fishes. It reportedly does great damage to cultured shellfish beds. One study in the Gulf of İskenderun off Turkey found that crustaceans comprised some 99% of its diet, with fish prey becoming increasingly important with age. Another study off the coast of Tarsus, Turkey, found the most important dietary component to be the penaeid shrimp Metapenaeus stebbingi, followed by the pistol shrimp Alpheus glaber and the swimming crab Charybdis longicollis; cephalopods were relatively important for males, while fishes were important for females. Common stingrays have been observed closely following each other in the presence of food, possibly to take advantage of other individuals' foraging success.

Like other stingrays, the common stingray is aplacental viviparous: the embryos are initially sustained by yolk, which is later supplemented by histotroph ("uterine milk", enriched with proteins, fat, and mucus) delivered by the mother through numerous extensions of the uterine epithelium called trophonemata. Females bear two litters of 4–9 pups per year in shallow inshore waters, following a gestation period of four months. Various authors have generally reported birthing in summer, between May and September or over a narrower timeframe such as July to August. Mature rays are known to aggregate off the Balearic Islands from mid-June to July, possibly for reproductive purposes. Newborns measure about 8 cm across and 20 cm long. Males reach sexual maturity at 22 - 32 cm across, and females at 24 - 38 cm across. The oldest known individual from the wild was ten years of age, but the species has lived up to 21 years in captivity. Known parasites of the common stingray include the flukes Heterocotyle pastinacae and Entobdella diadema, and the tapeworm Scalithrium minimum.

Though not aggressive, the common stingray can inflict an excruciating wound with its serrated, venomous tail spine. The ancient Greeks and Romans greatly feared its venom, with authors such as Aelian (175–235 AD) stating that stingray wounds were incurable.

Source: Wikipedia: Common stingray — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_stingray (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.