Pelagic stingray: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Pelagic stingray lives – recorded in 18 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Pteroplatytrygon violacea
Group	Rays, skates & chimaeras
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	18 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Myliobatiformes
Family	Dasyatidae

Where does the Pelagic stingray live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Pelagic stingray in 18 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil, New Guinea.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Pelagic stingray endangered?

The Pelagic stingray’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Pelagic stingray?

The Pelagic stingray (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes and the family Dasyatidae, genus Pteroplatytrygon. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Pelagic stingray

The pelagic stingray (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) is a species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, and the sole member of its genus. It is characterized by the wedge-like shape of its pectoral fin disc, which is much wider than long, as well as by the pointed teeth in both sexes, whip-like tail with extremely long tail spine, and uniform violet to blue-green coloration. It generally reaches 59 cm (23 in) in width. The pelagic stingray has a worldwide distribution in waters warmer than 19 °C (66 °F), and migrates seasonally to spend the summer closer to the continental shelf and at higher latitudes. The only stingray that almost exclusively inhabits the open ocean, this species is typically found in surface waters down to a depth of 100 m (330 ft). As a consequence of its midwater habits, its swimming style has evolved to feature more of a flapping motion of the pectoral fins, as opposed to the disc margin undulations used by other, bottom-dwelling stingrays.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pelagic stingray (revision 1362501851), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1815013 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).