The whiptail stingrays are a family, the Dasyatidae, of rays in the order

Myliobatiformes Myliobatiformes (), commonly known as stingrays, are one of the four orders of batoids, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are members of the subclass elasmobranchs. They were formerly included in the order Rajiformes, but more recent ...

. They are found worldwide in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

marine waters, and a number of species have also penetrated into

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

in Africa, Asia, and Australia. Members of this family have flattened

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

discs that range from oval to diamond-like in shape. Their common name comes from their whip-like tails, which are much longer than the disc and lack

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

s. All whiptail stingrays, except the porcupine ray (''Urogymnus asperrimus''), have one or more venomous stings near the base of the tail, which is used in defense. In order to sting their victims, they jerk their tails as the stinger falls off and stays in the wound that they have created. The stinger of a whiptail stingray is pointy, sharp with jagged edges. They range in size from or more across in the case of the smalleye stingray and giant freshwater stingray.

Genera

The taxonomy of Dasyatidae was revised by Peter Last, Gavin Naylor, and Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto in 2016, based on morphological and

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

data. The placement of '' Megatrygon'' within the family is provisional pending further research, as evidence suggests it may be more closely related to the families

Potamotrygonidae River stingrays or freshwater stingrays are Neotropical freshwater fishes of the family (biology), family Potamotrygonidae in the Order (biology), order Myliobatiformes, one of the four orders of Batoidea, batoids, cartilaginous fishes related to ...

and

Urotrygonidae Urotrygonidae is a family of rays in the order Myliobatiformes, commonly referred to as the American round stingrays or round rays. They are native to the tropical and warm temperate marine waters of the Americas. There are 20 recognized spec ...

than to other dasyatids. * Subfamily Dasyatinae D. S. Jordan & Gilbert, 1879 ** ''

Bathytoshia ''Bathytoshia'' is a genus of stingrays in the family (biology), family Dasyatidae found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate oceans (except the East Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean). It was formerly regarded as a junior synonym of the gen ...

'' Whitley, 1933 ** ''

Dasyatis ''Dasyatis'' (Greek alphabet, Greek δασύς ''dasýs'' meaning wikt:rough, rough or Density, dense and βατίς ''batís'' meaning Skate (fish), skate) is a genus of stingray in the family (biology), family Dasyatidae that is native to the ...

Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; 22 October 178318 September 1840) was a French early 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ult ...

, 1810 ** ''

Hemitrygon ''Hemitrygon'' is a genus of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae from marine, brackish and freshwater habitats in the central Indo-Pacific and northwest Pacific regions. The genus was formerly regarded as a junior synonym of the genus '' Dasyatis ...

Müller Müller may refer to: Companies * Müller (company), a German multinational dairy company ** Müller Milk & Ingredients, a UK subsidiary of the German company * Müller (store), a German retail chain * GMD Müller, a Swiss aerial lift manufacturi ...

& Henle, 1838 ** ''

Hypanus ''Hypanus'' is a genus of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae from warmer parts of the East Pacific and Atlantic, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The genus was previous regarded as a junior synonym of the genus ''Dasyatis''. Species ...

, 1818 ** '' Megatrygon''

Last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** '' Pteroplatytrygon'' Fowler, 1910 ** ''

Telatrygon ''Telatrygon'' is a genus of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae from the central Indo-Pacific. Its species were formerly contained within the genus ''Dasyatis''. Species The placement of ''T. acutirostra'' within the genus is provisional pendin ...

'' Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** '' Taeniurops''

Garman Garman is a surname or first name. Notable people with the name include: Sports * Ann Garman, All-American Girls Professional Baseball League player * Judi Garman (born 1954), American softball coach * Mike Garman (born 1949), American baseball pla ...

, 1913 * Subfamily Hypolophinae Stromer, 1910 ** '' Makararaja'' T. R. Roberts, 2007 ** ''

Pastinachus ''Pastinachus'' is a genus of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae. This genus was long held to be monotypic, containing only the cowtail stingray (''P. sephen''). Recent studies of Indo-Pacific stingrays have revealed that there are in fact a numb ...

'' Rüppell, 1829 * Subfamily Neotrygoninae Castelnau, 1873 ** '' Neotrygon'' Castelnau, 1873 ** '' Taeniura'' J. P. Müller and Henle, 1837 * Subfamily Urogymninae

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, 1851 ** '' Brevitrygon'' Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** '' Fluvitrygon'' Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** ''

Fontitrygon ''Fontitrygon'' is a genus of stingrays in the family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the ba ...

'' Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** '' Himantura'' J. P. Müller and Henle, 1837 ** '' Maculabatis ''Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** '' Pateobatis'' Last, Naylor, and Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016 ** †'' Protohimantura'' Marramà, Klug, de Vos & Kriwet, 2018 ** '' Urogymnus'' J. P. Müller and Henle, 1837

Phylogeny

References

{{Authority control * Taxa named by David Starr Jordan Extant Hauterivian first appearances

Genera

Phylogeny

See also

References