Marbled stingray (Dasyatis marmorata)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Dasyatis marmorata · Authority: (Steindachner, 1892) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 271445.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Dasyatis chrysonota marmorata (Steindachner, 1892); Trygon pastinaca marmorata Steindachner, 1892.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=271445 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 74.5 cm · Depth range: 12–65 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: other · Vulnerability index: 49.8 of 100 · Fishery importance: of no interest · Aquarium trade: never/rarely.

FishBase notes: Close inshore, found on sandy beaches and in shallow bays (Ref. 5578), sometimes near rocky reefs (Ref. 12951). Found in deeper offshore areas during the winter season (Ref. 12951). Feeds on crabs, mantis shrimps, amphipods, worms, and fishes (Ref. 12951). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Minimum depth reported from Ref. 4438. Disc width measures 30 cm. Its thorny, venomous hooks can cause painful injuries (Ref. 5377).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 8964) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Dasyatis-marmorata.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

728 georeferenced occurrence records for Dasyatis marmorata are published through GBIF from 28 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 46 distinct locations from a sample of 728 records, omitting 49 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: Nigeria (118); Ghana (81); Gabon (80); Côte d’Ivoire (71); Liberia (63); Cameroon (44); Sierra Leone (41); Guinea (34); Mauritania (31); Senegal (30); Guinea-Bissau (22); Equatorial Guinea (19); Israel (16); Congo, Democratic Republic of the (12); Togo (12).

Marine regions with a valid WoRMS distribution record: Koilada Kai Ekvoles Spercheiou - Maliakos Kolpos.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2419477) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2419477&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=271445 (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 marmorata (Steindachner, 1892) 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 161748) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/161748/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2419477) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2419477/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

A small to medium sized stingray with a snout and disc that doesn’t contain any spines. Their tails contain one dart at its base and the whole individual can measure up to 60 cm with a disk width of up to 44 cm. Their disc is more of an angular shape rather than a perfectly round sphere shape. One interesting fact that derives from their morphology, specifically their tail, is that Marbled Stingray has an undulatory locomotion swimming pattern.

They contain prominent elongated snouts, a rhomboidal disc without spines, and very conspicuous bright blue blotches on a beautiful golden background. These bright blue blotches seem to be warning signs that reflect he stingray's toxicity and harmful poison to the human health.

The marbled stingray has no caudal and anal fin, just a thick tail like a whip. In addition to this, they are considered bastoids with depressed bodies.

They have been recorded in the south of Tunisia, along the coast of Israel, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece. The species is, however, absent from the Black Sea.

Özbek did a close study in 2015 of the different Dasyatis species and the abundance and biomass of each one.

Their habitat is based on demersal species in temperate water, mainly inhabiting coastal and shallow water as they prefer warmer water temperatures. The Dasyatis marmorata is benthic on continental shelves that are found in sandy and muddy bottoms and/or sometimes even near rocky reefs They are found extremely deep from 12 to 100m under the ocean. The marbled stingray can be found in even deeper areas during winter.

Previous research has revealed that Dasyatis marmota feeds on crabs, mantis, shrimps, amphipods, worms and fishes

The Marbled Stingray had previously been misidentified as Dasyatis chrysonota in South Africa and as Dasyatis pastinaca in Europe, due to their similarities in disc length and width as well as the coloration on their pectoral fins. However, the main difference between D. marmota and D. pastinaca is that the marbled stingray has a yellowish surface with blue blotches, as opposed to the common stingray that exhibits brown to olive or grey coloration [4]. D.chrysonota and D. marmota also proved to differ in their snout angle as well as snout-to-vent length. Cowley and Compagno highlighted that the marbled stingray is a Northern hemisphere subspecies of Dasyatis chrysonota, that only has a slightly and more narrower angular snout. There have also been more newly found differences in the length and serrations of this structure proposed by Ergurden D.

In addition, the marbled stingray's sexual maturity is known to be reached at 30 cm (274 mm) and 32 cm in Disc Width (DW) for both males and females in that order [4] is viviparous with a gestation period of 3–4 months [4]. They usually have 4 juveniles per litter, each year.

Some research has attempted but not successfully advanced in finding the D. marmota's close relatives through, both old and new species.

Between Dasyatis marmorata, Rhinobatos cemiculus, and Rhinoptera marginata, it has been discovered that they contain about 50 different types across their muscle, liver, and gonadal tissues.

The connection between humans and these blue-blotched stingrays is that they are often part of the bycatch that get caught by bottom-focused fisheries. So far, there has been no successful reports that this species has been kept in captivity successfully and it is known to only have been seen in the wild. Small-scale fisheries have been previously viewed as a good alternative to industrial fishing, however, they can still negatively affect the bycatch fish that roams the deep waters, one of them being the marbled stingray.

Source: Wikipedia: Dasyatis marmorata — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasyatis_marmorata (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

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