Cowtail stingray (Pastinachus sephen)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Pastinachus sephen · Authority: (Forsskål, 1775) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 217419.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Dasyatis gruveli (Chabanaud, 1923); Dasyatis sephen (Forsskål, 1775); Dasybatus gruveli Chabanaud, 1923; Dasybatus sephen (Forsskål, 1775); Hypolophus sephen (Forsskål, 1775); Pastinachus gruveli (Chabanaud, 1923); Pastinachus sephen ater (MacLeay, 1883); Raia sancur Hamilton, 1822; Raja sancur Hamilton, 1822; Raja sephen Forsskål, 1775; Trigon forskalii Rüppell, 1829; Trygon sephen (Forsskål, 1775).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217419 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 183 cm · Common length: 65 cm · Depth range: 0–60 m · Habitat zone: reef-associated · Body shape: other · Vulnerability index: 90 of 100 · Fishery importance: minor commercial · Aquarium trade: commercial.

FishBase notes: Found in lagoons, reef flats, and reef faces (Ref. 12951). Also in rivers far from the sea (Ref. 5578). Feeds on bony fishes, worms, shrimp, and crabs (Ref. 12951). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Adults are sometimes accompanied by remoras or members of the trevally family (Ref. 6871). Size at birth about 18 cm WD or larger (Ref. 6871). Flesh utilized as food and skin used for polishing wood (Ref. 4832). Possibly caught by sports anglers (Ref. 5578). Recently there is a targeted fishery on this species for its skin, which is used as 'shagreen' in fashion accessories, from wallets to fancy pens; as a result, the species is in danger of disappearance (IHT 26.11.2005, p.5). Maximum length about 300 cm TL (Ref. 30573).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 8203) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Pastinachus-sephen.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

336 georeferenced occurrence records for Pastinachus sephen are published through GBIF from 34 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 67 distinct locations from a sample of 336 records, omitting 18 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: Australia (155); Egypt (66); United Arab Emirates (16); Saudi Arabia (16); Pakistan (14); India (9); Kuwait (9); Maldives (8); Bangladesh (4); New Caledonia (4); Oman (4); Israel (3); Thailand (3); South Africa (3); American Samoa (2).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: South Africa (country); Somali Exclusive Economic Zone; Seychellois Exclusive Economic Zone; Chagos.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2419714) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2419714&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217419 (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 Pastinachus sephen (Forsskål, 1775) as Near Threatened (code NT). 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 70682503) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/70682503/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2419714) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2419714/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The cowtail stingray has a widespread distribution in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific, from South Africa and the Red Sea to Japan and Australia, including Melanesia and Micronesia. They are amphidromous and known to enter estuaries and rivers. This species is the most commonly reported stingray from fresh water in Southeast Asia, and there is a record from the Ganges River some 2,200 km from the sea. They are usually found on sandy bottoms in coastal waters and on coral reefs to a depth of 60 m.

The pectoral fin disk of the cowtail stingray is very thick, with almost straight anterior margins and rounded apices, and measuring 1.1-1.3 times as long as wide. The snout is broadly rounded and blunt. The eyes are very small and widely spaced. The mouth is narrow, with 20 rows of distinctive hexagonal, high-crowned teeth in each jaw and five papillae on the mouth floor. The tail is broad-based, with a filamentous tip and a single venomous spine located well backwards of the pelvic fins. There is no upper tail fold; the high ventral tail fold measures 2-3 times the height of the tail but does not reach the tip.

The disk surface is covered by a broad band of fine dermal denticles extending from near the tip of the snout to the upper surface of the tail, excluding the extreme margins of the disk. Newborns are entirely smooth but develop denticles quickly after birth. Juveniles have four circular tubercles at the center of the disk, which often become indistinct in adults. The coloration is a uniform grayish brown to black above and mostly white below. The tail fold and tip are black. This species may reach 3 m long and 1.8 m across, and 250 kg in weight.

Cowtail stingrays are solitary foragers that feed on bony fishes (including leiognathids, Nemipterus, and soles), crustaceans, polychaete worms, sipunculids, and molluscs. The cowtail stingray is in turn preyed upon by various species of hammerhead and requiem sharks, as well as by the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus). When threatened, they consistently flee at a 45° angle away from the predator, a trajectory that allows them to maximize the distance covered while still keeping the predator within their field of vision.

Like other stingrays, reproduction in this species is ovoviviparous, with the embryos sustained in late development by histotroph ("uterine milk") delivered via specialized structures. The females giving birth to live young measuring 18 cm across or more. Single young individuals have been reported year-round in the Strait of Malacca; juveniles have more pointed snouts than adults. Adults are sometimes accompanied by remoras or trevallies. Known parasites of the cowtail stingray include Dendromonocotyle ardea, Decacotyle tetrakordyle, and Pterobdella amara.

Observations of cowtail stingrays in Shark Bay, Australia, show that this species enters shallow, sandy flats during high tide to rest for a minimum of four hours. They often form small groups when resting, particularly when visibility is poor such as in turbid water or under low light conditions. The typical size of such groups is three individuals (larger groups, up to nine, are rare), arranged in a "rosette" formation with their tails pointing outward. This appears to be an anti-predator behavior, as the close circular arrangement of the rays allows them to see predators approaching from any direction. The rosette also orients their less critical tails, containing mechanoreceptors that comprise a secondary warning system, towards potential threats. The members of the group will flee in concert, reducing a predator's ability to target any one individual. Cowtail stingrays also preferentially form mixed-species groups with reticulate whiprays (Himantura uarnak), likely because the whiprays are better able to detect predators due to their longer tails.

The serrated spine of the cowtail stingray is potentially dangerous, and this species is regarded as particularly dangerous to handle as its long tail is capable of reaching over its back to strike someone gripping it from the front. Small to moderate numbers of cowtail stingrays are caught as bycatch in trawls and marketed for meat throughout their range, and their tough skin is used to polish wood. This species is also the primary source of shagreen or galuchat, a type of leather, for which it has been valued since ancient times due to the large size and regular arrangement of its dorsal tubercles (called "pearls" in the trade from their nacreous appearance after being rubbed down, hence the old name "pearled ray").

A boom in the international shagreen trade since the 1990s, with the material being used in many fashion accessories from wallets to fancy pens, has led to enormous numbers of cowtail stingrays being harvested in Southeast Asia. As stingrays are slow-reproducing, long-lived animals, there are fears that this unregulated exploitation is unsustainable and will lead to a population collapse.

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

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