Chordata · chordates

Roughtail stingray

Bathytoshia centroura

Dasyatidae · whiptail stingraysIUCN: Vulnerable
Roughtail stingray
Photo: NURC/UNCW and NOAA/FGBNMS · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · resized

The largest stingray in the Northwest Atlantic, with rows of thorny bumps along its tail.

Fun factIts whip-like tail can be twice as long as its body disc.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean & Black Sea
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Continental shelf
Diet
Crabs, worms & clams
Size
Wingspan up to 2.1 m

Classification

Chordata › Chondrichthyes › Myliobatiformes › Dasyatidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Chordata chordates
    • At some stage of life: a stiffening rod along the back (notochord)
    • A hollow nerve cord along the back (dorsal)
    • Slits in the throat (pharyngeal slits) and a tail past the anus
  5. Subphylum Vertebrata vertebrates
    • A skull (cranium) protecting a brain
    • Backbone or similar support around the nerve cord
    • Includes fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
  6. Infraphylum Gnathostomata jawed vertebrates
    • Jawed vertebrates: jaws formed from gill arches
    • Paired fins or limbs
    • Includes all fishes except hagfish and lampreys, plus all tetrapods
  7. Class Chondrichthyes cartilaginous fishes
    • Skeleton made of cartilage, not bone
    • Skin covered in tooth-like scales (denticles)
    • Teeth constantly replaced; males have claspers for mating
  8. Subclass Elasmobranchii sharks & rays
    • Sharks and rays: five to seven separate gill slits on each side
    • Many rows of replaceable teeth
  9. Superorder Batoidea rays & skates
    • Rays and skates: flattened bodies with gill slits underneath
    • Pectoral fins joined to the head
    • Many have crushing, pavement-like teeth
  10. Order Myliobatiformes stingrays & eagle rays
    • Stingrays and eagle rays: most have a venomous tail spine
    • Give birth to live young
  11. Family Dasyatidae whiptail stingrays
    • Whiptail stingrays: long, whip-like tail with a barbed spine
  12. Genus Bathytoshia
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  13. Species Bathytoshia centroura Roughtail stingray

Closest relatives in the guide