Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) >
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays) >
Hexatrygonidae (Sixgill stingrays)
Etymology: Hexatrygon: Greek, exa = six + Greek, trygon = the name of a ray; 1749 (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: David ‘Dave’ Bickell was a South African journalist, formerly the angling correspondent for the ‘Eastern Province Herald’. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; bathydemersal; depth range 350 - 1120 m (Ref. 9906), usually 362 - 1120 m (Ref. 9906). Deep-water; 46°N - 37°S, 16°E - 154°W
Indo-Pacific: South Africa eastward to Japan, Australia and the Hawaiian Islands.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 143 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31444); 111.7 cm TL (female)
Dorsal spines (total): 0. A bizarre-looking flabby stingray with a long, thick, fleshy snout (Ref. 5578). Dark violet-blue or brownish above, white below (Ref. 5578).
Inhabits soft bottoms of upper continental slopes (Ref. 9906). Feeding habits unknown (Ref. 9906). Minimum depth from Ref. 58018. Probably caught with bottom trawls (Ref. 9906). Maximum length of female from Ref. 84148.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Smith, M.M. and P.C. Heemstra, 1986. Hexatrygonidae. p. 142-143. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. (Ref. 3966)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 4.1 - 10.7, mean 6.6 °C (based on 1209 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.6 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Assuming fecundity<100).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (86 of 100).