Paratrygon aiereba explained

Paratrygon aiereba also known as discus ray, manzana ray or ceja ray is a river stingray from the Amazon basin in South America.[1]

Appearance

This freshwater ray has small eyes and a disc shaped roughly like a lily pad (the snout is slightly concave).[2] It is brownish above with a dark vermiculated or reticulated pattern.

It reaches up to in disc width and in weight, making it one of the largest species in the family. There are unconfirmed claims of much larger individuals, but these are considered highly questionable.[3] Most individuals do not surpass a disc width of . Males reach maturity at a disc width of about and females at about .

Behavior

It mainly feeds on fish,[4] but also take invertebrates such as insects and crustaceans, and it is a top predator in its habitat.[5] Adults are found in relatively deep waters in main river channels, but move to shallower waters to feed at night. After a nine-month gestation, the female give birth to an average of two young with a disc width of about . Juveniles are found in relatively shallow waters at sandy beaches and in creeks.

Notes and References

  1. Loboda TS, Lasso CA, Rosa RS, Carvalho MR . 11 June 2021. Two new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus Paratrygon (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the Orinoco basin, with comments on the taxonomy of Paratrygon aiereba. Neotropical Ichthyology . 19 . 2 . 10.1590/1982-0224-2020-0083. 236301627 . free.
  2. Book: Rays of the World. CSIRO. 2016. 9780643109148. Last. 626. White. de Carvalho. Séret. Stehmann. Naylor.
  3. Web site: Paratrygon aiereba. 25 October 2017. fishing-worldrecords.com.
  4. Book: Reynolds. Husbandry of freshwater stingrays. Hornbrook. Stettner. Terrell. Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual II. Special Publication of the Ohio Biological Survey. 2017. 978-0-86727-166-9. Smith. 99–112. Warmolts. Thoney. Hueter. Murray. Ezcurra.
  5. Book: Rosa, R.S.. Sharks and Their Relatives II: Biodiversity, Adaptive Physiology, and Conservation. Charvet-Almeida, P.. Quijada, C.C.D.. CRC Press. 2010. 978-1-4200-8047-6. Carrier, J.C.. Marine Biology. 20100521. 241–285. Biology of the South American Potamotrygonid Stingrays. 10.1201/9781420080483-c5. Musick, J.A.. Heithaus, M.R..