Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; depth range 1 - 36 m (Ref. 13608). Tropical; 22°N - 24°S, 97°W - 30°W
Western Atlantic: southern Gulf of Mexico and West Indies to Santos, Brazil.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 58.8, range 50 - 55 cm
Max length : 200 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 3168); common length : 125 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 6077)
Disc rhomboid. Blunt and close-set tubercles that clothe the midzone of disc. Snout in front of eyes about 1.4 times as long as distance between outer margins of orbits. Upper surface brown, sometimes yellowish or olivaceous. Lower surface pure or yellowish white, ventral tail fold and dorsal keel black (Ref. 6902).
Demersal species on continental shelf to at least 35 m (but likely to be deeper); also found in brackish water, with young collected from tide pools (Ref. 114953). Mobile invertebrate feeders, feeds on benthic mobile invertebrates such as molluscs, crustaceans and worms associated with hard or nearby unconsolidated substrate (Ref. 103985); also on small fishes (Ref. 114953). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Marketed salted; also used in the preparation of gelatin and good quality oil. Between 1995 and 2000, at least 5 specimens have been traded as aquarium fish at Ceará, Brazil (Ref. 49392).
Exhibit ovoviparity (aplacental viviparity), with embryos feeding initially on yolk, then receiving additional nourishment from the mother by indirect absorption of uterine fluid enriched with mucus, fat or protein through specialised structures (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205).
Last, P.R., W.T. White, M.R. de Carvalho, B. Séret, M.F.W. Stehmann and G.J.P. Naylor, 2016. Rays of the world. CSIRO Publishing, Comstock Publishing Associates. i-ix + 1-790. (Ref. 114953)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic (Ref. 3168)
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 26.7 - 28.2, mean 27.6 °C (based on 565 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00708 (0.00350 - 0.01431), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.3 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Fec=2).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
