Pearl Stingray
Fontitrygon margaritella
- Near threatened
- Card rarity: Uncommon
- Sharks and rays
The pearl stingray is a little-known species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in shallow coastal waters from Mauritania to Angola, though fossils have been found in Portugal. Growing to 30 cm (12 in) across, this species has a rounded pectoral fin disc with a pointed snout, and a wide band of dermal denticles over the back in adults. It closely resembles and is often confused for the much larger daisy stingray ; both species are characterized by the presence of an enlarged, nacreous denticle in the middle of the back called a "pearl spine". The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) assesses the pearl stingray's conservation status as Near Threatened, but it is likely that most of the historically reported fishery catches of the daisy stingray were in fact of this species.
Classification
- Class
- Chondrichthyes
- Order
- Myliobatiformes
- Family
- Dasyatidae
- Genus
- Fontitrygon