''Potamotrygon'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

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 basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Potamotrygonidae native to the rivers of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and sometimes seen in the aquarium trade. It inhabits rivers of

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 ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

climates, especially those of the

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

and is virtually present in all South American countries, except for

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. Like other stingrays, the fishes of this genus have

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous barbs at the base of their tails, and their stings are dangerous to humans. It is said that the natives of South America fear the stingray more than they do fear the piranha. ''Potamotrygon'' vary considerably in color, pattern and size, with the maximum disc width ranging from in ''P. wallacei'' to in ''P. brachyura''.

In the aquarium

Though freshwater stingray of other genera do appear in the trade, most are from ''Potamotrygon''. They are best kept with a deep, sandy substrate, in which they bury themselves, often with only the eyes visible. They are not

territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

with other animals and can be kept in groups, provided a large enough aquarium is provided. They are carnivorous bottom feeders and require strong filtration as they are rather sensitive to water conditions. Many species of stingray have been bred in captivity and males can be determined by the presence of claspers as in other Chondrichthyans.

Species

There are currently more than 30 recognized extant (living) species in this genus: * '' Potamotrygon adamastor'' Fontenelle, J. P. & de Carvalho, M. R., 2017 (Branco river stingray)Fontenelle, J. P. & de Carvalho, M. R. (2017)
Systematic revision of the "Potamotrygon scobina" Garman, 1913 species-complex (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes: Potamotrygonidae), with the description of three new freshwater stingray species from Brazil and comments on their distribution and biogeography.
''Zootaxa, 4310 (1): 1–63.'' * '' Potamotrygon albimaculata'' M. R. de Carvalho, 2016 (Itaituba river stingray or Tapajós river stingray)Carvalho, M.R.d. (2016)
Description of two extraordinary new species of freshwater stingrays of the genus ''Potamotrygon'' endemic to the rio Tapajós basin, Brazil (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae), with notes on other Tapajós stingrays.
''Zootaxa, 4167 (1): 1–63.'' * ''

Potamotrygon amandae ''Potamotrygon amandae'', or Amanda's freshwater stingray, is a type of freshwater tropical ray found in Paraná River, South America. Description This species can be distinguished from its congeners on the same genus through several charact ...

'' Loboda & M. R. de Carvalho, 2013 (Amanda's river stingray)Loboda, T.S. & Carvalho, M.R.d. (2013)
Systematic revision of the ''Potamotrygon motoro'' (Müller & Henle, 1841) species complex in the Paraná-Paraguay basin, with description of two new ocellated species (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes: Potamotrygonidae).
''Neotropical Ichthyology, 11 (4): 693–737.'' * ''

Potamotrygon amazona ''Potamotrygon amazona'', the Upper Amazon raspy freshwater stingray, is a type of freshwater tropical stingray found in the state of Amazonas and Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region ...

'' Fontenelle, J. P. & de Carvalho, M. R., 2017 (Upper Amazon raspy river stingray) * ''

Potamotrygon boesemani ''Potamotrygon boesemani'', the Suriname freshwater stingray or Boeseman's river stingray, is a type of freshwater tropical ray found exclusively in a river shared by Suriname and Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of G ...

'' R. S. Rosa, M. R. de Carvalho & Wanderley, 2008 (Boeseman's river stingray)Rosa, R.S., Carvalho, M.R.d. & Wanderley, C.d.A. (2008): ''Potamotrygon boesemani'' (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes: Potamotrygonidae), a new species of Neotropical freshwater stingray from Surinam. ''Neotropical Ichthyology, 6 (1): 1–8.'' * '' Potamotrygon brachyura'' ( Günther, 1880) (Short-tailed river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon constellata'' ( Vaillant, 1880) (Thorny river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon falkneri'' Castex & Maciel, 1963 (Large-spot river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon garmani'' Fontenelle, J. P. & de Carvalho, M. R., 2017 (Garman's river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon henlei'' ( Castelnau, 1855) (Big-tooth river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon histrix'' ( J. P. Müller & Henle, 1834) (Porcupine river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon humerosa'' Garman, 1913 (Rough-back river stingray) * ''

Potamotrygon jabuti ''Potamotrygon'' is a genus of fresh water, freshwater stingrays in the family (biology), family Potamotrygonidae native to the rivers of South America, and sometimes seen in the aquarium trade. It inhabits rivers of Tropical climate, tropical an ...

'' M. R. de Carvalho, 2016 (Pearl river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon leopoldi'' Castex & Castello, 1970 (White-blotched river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon limai'' Fontenelle, J. P. C. B. Silva & M. R. de Carvalho, 2014 (Zé Lima river stingray)Fontenelle, J.P., Silva, J.P.C.B.d. & Carvalho, M.R.d. (2014): ''Potamotrygon limai'', sp. nov., a new species of freshwater stingray from the upper Madeira River system, Amazon basin (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae). ''Zootaxa, 3765 (3): 249–268.'' * '' Potamotrygon magdalenae'' ( A. H. A. Duméril, 1865) (Magdalena river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon marinae'' Deynat, 2006 (Marina's river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon marquesi'' Silva & Loboda, 2019 * ''

Potamotrygon motoro The ocellate river stingray (''Potamotrygon motoro''), also known as the peacock-eye stingray or black river stingray, is a species of freshwater stingray in the family Potamotrygonidae. It was the first species to be described in the family and ...

'' ( J. P. Müller & Henle, 1841) (Ocellate river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon ocellata'' ( Engelhardt, 1912) (Red-blotched river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon orbignyi'' ( Castelnau, 1855) (Smooth-back river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon pantanensis'' Loboda & M. R. de Carvalho, 2013 (Pantanal river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon rex'' M. R. de Carvalho, 2016 (Great river stingray)Carvalho, M.R.d. (2016): ''Potamotrygon rex'', a new species of Neotropical freshwater stingray (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the middle and upper rio Tocantins, Brazil, closely allied to ''Potamotrygon henlei'' (Castelnau, 1855). ''Zootaxa, 4150 (5): 537–565.'' * '' Potamotrygon schroederi'' Fernández-Yépez, 1958 (Flower ray or rosette river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon schuhmacheri'' Castex, 1964 (Parana river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon scobina'' Garman, 1913 (Raspy river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon signata'' Garman, 1913 (Parnaiba river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon tatianae'' J. P. C. B. Silva & M. R. de Carvalho, 2011 (Tatiana's river stingray) * '' Potamotrygon tigrina'' M. R. de Carvalho, Sabaj Pérez &

Lovejoy ''Lovejoy'' is a British television comedy-drama mystery fiction, mystery series, based on the Lovejoy (novel series), novels by John Grant (Lovejoy), John Grant under the pen name Jonathan Gash. The show, which ran to 71 episodes over six ser ...

, 2011 (Tiger river stingray)Carvalho, M.R.d., Sabaj Pérez, M.H. & Lovejoy, N.R. (2011): ''Potamotrygon tigrina'', a new species of freshwater stingray from the upper Amazon basin, closely related to ''Potamotrygon schroederi'' Fernandez-Yépez, 1958 (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae). ''Zootaxa, 2827: 1–30.'' * '' Potamotrygon wallacei'' M. R. de Carvalho, R. S. Rosa & M. L. G. Araújo, 2016 (Cururu ray)Carvalho, M.R.d., Rosa, R.S. & Araújo, M.L.G. (2016): A new species of Neotropical freshwater stingray (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygonidae) from the Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil: the smallest species of ''Potamotrygon''. ''Zootaxa, 4107 (4): 566-586.'' * '' Potamotrygon yepezi'' Castex & Castello, 1970 (Maracaibo river stingray)

Extinct (fossil) species

Three species are extinct and only known from Tertiary fossil remains:Chabain, Jules; Pierre-Olivier Antoine; Ali J. Altamirano-Sierra; Laurent Marivaux; François Pujos; Rodolfo Salas Gismondi; Sylvain Adnet (2017). Cenozoic batoids from Contamana (Peruvian Amazonia) with focus on freshwater potamotrygonins and their paleoenvironmental significance. Geobios 50: 389–400. *†'' Potamotrygon canaanorum'' *†'' Potamotrygon contamanensis'' *†'' Potamotrygon rajachloeae''

References

{{Authority control Freshwater fish of South America Freshwater fish genera Ray genera Taxa named by Samuel Garman