Black Stingray, Bathytoshia lata (Garman 1880)


Other Names: Black Skate, Black Stingaree, Longtail Stingray, Long-tail Stingray, Long-tailed Stingaree, Long-tailed Stingray, Thorntail Ray, Thorntail Stingray, Thorn-tail Stingray

Thorns along the tail of a Black Stingray, Bathytoshia lata (formerly Dasyatis thetidis), with juvenile Golden Trevally, at Lighthouse Wall, Ulladulla, New South Wales, 31 December 2008. Source: Richard Ling / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

Summary:

Among the largest stingrays in the world, the Black Stingray has a very long whip-like tail armed with one or two venomous serrated spines, and stout sharp thorns along the middle of the disc and tail. It is uniformly dark greenish-brown to black above with a pale underside.

The Black Stingray was previously known as Dasyatis thetidis, a junior synonym of Bathytoshia lata (Last et al. 2016).


Cite this page as:
Bray, D.J. 2018, Bathytoshia lata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3526

Black Stingray, Bathytoshia lata (Garman 1880)

More Info


Distribution

Widespread in subtropical to temperate waters of Australia, from about Moreton Bay (Queensland), around the southern half of Australia, to the North West Shelf (Western Australia); also at Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. Elsewhere the species is widespread and common in temperate waters of New Zealand and southern Africa.

Size

  • Total length (TL) 400 cm
  • Disc width (DW) 180 cm
  • Maximum weight - more than 200 kg
  • Feeding

    Feeds on benthic crustaceans, bivalve molluscs, polychaete worms, and on fishes.

    Biology

    The Black Stingray is aplacental viviparous - meaning that once the the developing embryos use up their yolk sac, they are sustained by uterine milk produced by the mother before being born live. Females produce litters of 6-10 pups. 

    Fisheries

    Although commonly taken as bycatch in commercial fisheries, the species is generally released or discarded.

    Conservation

  • IUCN Red List : Least Concern
  • Similar Species

    The similar Smooth Stingray, Bathytoshia brevicaudata, differs in having irregular rows of small white spots on the upper surface beside the head, no thorn-like denticles along the dorsal midline of the disc, and a shorter tail. (Bathytoshia brevicaudata was previously known as Dasyatis brevicaudata).

    Species Citation

    Trygon lata Garman 1880, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 6(11): 170. Type locality: Hawaiian Islands.

    Author

    Bray, D.J. 2018

    Resources

    Australian Faunal Directory

    Black Stingray, Bathytoshia lata (Garman 1880)

    References


    Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Perth : Western Australian Museum 292 pp. 106 pls (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Daley, R.K., Stevens, J.D., Last, P.R. & Yearsley, G.K. 2002. Field Guide to Australian Sharks & Rays. Hobart : CSIRO Marine Research 84 pp.

    Ebert, D.A., Vidthayanon, D.A. & Samiengo, B. 2016. Bathytoshia lata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T161386A104066775. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T161386A104066775.en. Downloaded on 04 September 2018.

    Francis, M. 1993. Checklist of the coastal fishes of Lord Howe, Norfolk, and Kermadec Islands, southwest Pacific Ocean. Pacific Science 47(2): 136-170 figs 1-2 (Lord Howe Island) (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Garman, S. 1880. New species of selachians in the museum collection. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 6(11): 167-172

    Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Gomon, M.F. 2008. Families Dasyatidae, Myliobatidae, Chimaeridae, Callorhinchidae, Rhinochimaeridae. 138-149 pp. in Gomon. M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp. (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Bathurst : Crawford House Press 437 pp. (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Last, P.R. 1994. Families Dasyatididae, Myliobatididae. pp. 181-85, figs 159-163 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H (eds) The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Last, P.R., Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M., Naylor, G.J.P. & White, W.T. 2016. Family Dasyatidae pp. 522-618. In: Last, P.R., White, W.T., de Carvalho, M.R., Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds) Rays of the World. Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing, 800 pp.

    Last, P.R., Naylor, G.J.P. & Manjaji-Matsumoto, B.M. 2016. A revised classification of the family Dasyatidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) based on new morphological and molecular insights. Zootaxa 4139(3): 345-368. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.2

    Last, P.R., Scott, E.O.G. & Talbot, F.H. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Hobart : Tasmanian Fisheries Development Authority 563 pp. figs.

    Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Canberra : CSIRO Australia 513 pp. 84 pls (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Last, P.R. & Stevens, J.D. 2009. Sharks and Rays of Australia. Collingwood : CSIRO Publishing Australia 2, 550 pp.  (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Last, P.R. & Stewart, A. 2015. 33 Family Dasyatidae. pp. 197-200 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 2 pp. 1-576.

    Ogilby, J.D. in Waite, E.R. 1899. Scientific results of the trawling expedition of H.M.C.S. Thetis off the coast of New South Wales. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 4: 1-132 figs 1-10 pls 1-31. (as Dasyatis thetidis)

    Stead, D.G. 1963. Sharks and Rays of Australian Seas. Sydney : Angus & Robertson 211 pp. 63 figs (p. 162 as Dasyatis latus)

    Whitley, G.P. 1933. Studies in Ichthyology No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum 19(1): 60-112 figs 1-4 pls 11-15 (as Bathytoshia thetidis)

    Whitley, G.P. 1940. The Fishes of Australia. Part 1. The sharks, rays, devil-fish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Sydney : Roy. Zool. Soc. N.S.W. 280 pp. 303 figs (as Bathytoshia thetidis)

    Quick Facts


    CAAB Code:37035002

    Behaviour:400cm TL; 180cm DW

    Conservation:IUCN Least Concern

    Danger:Venomous spines on tail

    Depth:0-360 m

    Habitat:Sandy, muddy bottoms

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    Species Maps

    CAAB distribution map