Short-tail stingray (Bathytoshia brevicaudata)

Classification (WoRMS)

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

Accepted name: Bathytoshia brevicaudata · Authority: (Hutton, 1875) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 316573.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Dasyatis brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875); Dasyatis brevicaudatus (Hutton, 1875); Dasyatis matsubarai Miyosi, 1939; Dasyatis schreineri (Gilchrist, 1913); Trygon brevicaudata Hutton, 1875; Trygon schreineri Gilchrist, 1913; Urolophoides matsubarai (Miyosi, 1939).

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=316573 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

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

Maximum length: 430 cm · Common length: 125 cm · Depth range: 0–476 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: other · Vulnerability index: 90 of 100 · Fishery importance: commercial · Aquarium trade: public aquariums.

FishBase notes: Occurs offshore, on the outer shelf and uppermost slope; sometimes close inshore (Ref. 5578), in very shallow ( 0 m) depths (Ref. 26346). Found on sandy bottoms, in bays, harbors, and near rocky reefs (Ref. 12951). Often in aggregations (Ref. 12951). Feeds on fishes, bivalves, squid, and crustaceans (Ref. 12951). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Reputed to be the largest stingray in the world weighing more than 350,000 g (Ref. 6871). Frequently raises its tail in a scorpion-like fashion when approached, but is considered more as inquisitive rather than aggressive (Ref. 6871). The barbed tail however can inflict a severe or potentially fatal wound (Ref. 6871). Sometimes caught by anglers (Ref. 5578). It is parasitised by the monogenean Heterocotyle tokoloshei in the gills (Ref. 124053)

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 6381) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Bathytoshia-brevicaudata.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-23.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

26,700 georeferenced occurrence records for Bathytoshia brevicaudata are published through GBIF from 16 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 61 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 76 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 (25,426); New Zealand (1,115); South Africa (123); Mozambique (11); Japan (4).

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

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2419488) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2419488&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=316573 (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 Bathytoshia brevicaudata (Hutton, 1875) as Least Concern (code LC). 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 104039923) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/104039923/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2419488) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2419488/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-23.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Japanese ichthyologist Yasunori Miyosi described the pitted stingray in a 1939 issue of the Bulletin of the Biogeographical Society of Japan, based on a specimen collected from the Hyuga-nada Sea in eastern Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Nishida and Nakaya (1990) regarded the multispine giant stingray (D. multispinosa) as the same as this species, which was confirmed by the study of Last et al. (2016).

The pitted stingray is found over the continental shelf around Japan, and is particularly abundant around Hokkaidō and northern Honshū. It has also been recorded from elsewhere in the Sea of Japan, near South Korea and Vladivostok, Russia. The pitted stingray is generally a bottom-dweller inhabiting coastal waters 40 - 60 m deep. However, the capture of one individual near the surface over water 3000 m deep in the Sea of Japan suggests that this species may have pelagic habits as well.

The pitted stingray has a diamond-shaped pectoral fin disc wider than long, with almost straight leading margins converging to the tip of the snout at a blunt angle, and rounded trailing margins. The floor of the mouth contains anywhere from zero papillae to 12, arranged in three rows of 3, 7 and 2. There are 34–44 upper tooth rows and 33–46 lower tooth rows. There is a distinctive W-shaped furrow on the underside of the disc, at the center behind the fifth pair of gill slits. Only one other member of its family, the groovebelly stingray (D. hypostigma), shares this feature.

The tail is whip-like and measures 75–122% of the disc width, bearing 1–3 stinging spines on the upper surface. The tail spine averages 6.5 cm long with 90 serrations in males, and 7.7 cm long with 87 serrations in females. Behind the spine, there is a low dorsal keel and a ventral fin fold measuring less than half as long as the disc width. Mature individuals have a row of 2–10 tubercles on the snout tip, 3–5 tubercles on the back, and 1–8 tubercles before the spine. The tail is covered by dermal denticles towards the tip. This species is dark gray above, darkening on the tail fold, and white below with gray irregular spots and fin margins. The upper surface of the disc bears many small pores that are ringed in white. The pitted stingray attains a disc width of 2 m.

At Shima Marineland, a Japanese public aquarium, there is a record that individuals bred for 28 years have reached a disc width of 2.05 m and a total length of 2.85 m.

Little is known of the natural history of the pitted stingray. This species is parasitized by the praniza larvae of gnathiid isopods, which attach to the gills. Reproduction is presumably aplacental viviparous like other stingrays.

The pitted stingray is caught incidentally by Japanese coastal fisheries, using longlines, gillnets, and set nets, and marketed for human consumption. However, the significance of this species in catches relative to other stingray species is unknown. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed it as Data Deficient.

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

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