Short-tailed river stingray: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the short-tailed river stingray lives – recorded in 2 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Potamotrygon brachyura
Group	Rays, skates & chimaeras
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	2 countries
Continents	South America
Class	Cartilaginous fish
Order	Myliobatiformes
Family	Potamotrygonidae

Where does the short-tailed river stingray live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the short-tailed river stingray in 2 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

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 short-tailed river stingray endangered?

The short-tailed river stingray’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the short-tailed river stingray?

The short-tailed river stingray (Potamotrygon brachyura) is a cartilaginous fish in the order Myliobatiformes and the family Potamotrygonidae, genus Potamotrygon. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the short-tailed river stingray

The short-tailed river stingray (Potamotrygon brachyura) is a species of river stingray (family Potamotrygonidae) native to the Río de la Plata Basin in South America. It is sometimes known as the giant freshwater stingray, but this name is typically used for Urogymnus polylepis.

Growing to a disc diameter of about 1.9 m (6.2 ft) and a weight of 220 kg (485 lb 0 oz), with unconfirmed records of even larger specimens, the short-tailed river stingray is the largest freshwater species in its family and one of the heaviest strict freshwater fish in South America, only matched by the arapaima (Arapaima) and piraíba catfish (Brachyplatystoma filamentosum). The primary threat to the short-tailed river stingray is fishing for food and as a game fish (if not released), but it is also under pressure from habitat loss and occasionally caught for aquaria.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Short-tailed river stingray (revision 1326160035), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1642212 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).