Roughnose stingray facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Roughnose stingray |
|
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pastinachus
|
| Species: |
solocirostris
|
The roughnose stingray (Pastinachus solocirostris) is a type of stingray. It is not very well known. You can usually find it in shallow, river mouth waters. These areas are often near mangrove forests. This stingray lives off the coasts of Borneo, Sumatra, and maybe Java.
This stingray can grow up to 72 cm (about 28 inches) wide. It has a diamond-shaped body and a long, whip-like tail. Its tail has a fin fold on the bottom. A special feature of this stingray is its pointed snout. This snout is covered in small, rough bumps called dermal denticles. Female roughnose stingrays give birth to live young. They might have only one baby at a time. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the roughnose stingray is Endangered. This means it is at high risk of disappearing. It is threatened by too much fishing and by the loss of its mangrove homes.
Contents
How the Roughnose Stingray Got Its Name
Scientists Peter Last, B. Mabel Manjaji, and Gordon Yearsley first described the roughnose stingray. They wrote about it in a science paper called Zootaxa in 2005. They gave it the name solocirostris. This name comes from two Latin words. Solocis means "rough" or "bristly." Rostrum means "snout." So, its name means "rough snout."
The first roughnose stingray they studied was an adult male. It was 41 cm (about 16 inches) wide. It was found at a fish market in Mukah, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Where Roughnose Stingrays Live
The roughnose stingray lives along the western coast of Borneo. You can find it off Sarawak, Brunei, and the very southwest part of Sabah. It also lives off northeastern Sumatra. Some stingrays have been seen in fish markets in Jakarta on Java. But no one knows exactly where those stingrays were caught.
This stingray lives on the bottom of the ocean. It prefers muddy coastal waters and mangrove estuaries. These are places where rivers flow into the sea. It especially likes areas with a lot of fresh water from rivers. It has been found as deep as 30 meters (about 98 feet). But most of them live in waters shallower than 10 meters (about 33 feet).
What Does the Roughnose Stingray Look Like?
The body of the roughnose stingray is shaped like a diamond. It is a bit wider than it is long. The outer corners are rounded. The front edges curve gently and meet at the pointed tip of its snout. The angle at the snout tip is less than 110 degrees.
Its eyes are small and do not stick out much. There are large breathing holes called spiracles right behind its eyes. Between its nostrils, there is a flap of skin. This flap has two clear lobes at the back. The upper jaw is very curved. Its center points down at a right angle. This fits against the bow-shaped lower jaw.
The stingray has large, blunt teeth. They have hexagon-shaped tops. The teeth are arranged in a special pattern. There are about 20 rows of teeth on the top jaw. There are about 25 rows on the bottom jaw. Inside its mouth, there are five small bumps in a row on the floor. The two bumps on the outside are smaller and set apart.
Its pelvic fins are shaped like triangles. The tail is quite thick at the base and gets thinner towards the tip. It can be three times as long as the body disc or even more. The tail has one or two sharp, stinging spines. These spines are located about one body length past the base of the tail. Behind the sting, there is a thin fin fold on the bottom of the tail.
The top of the stingray's body is covered in many small, rough bumps called dermal denticles. These bumps cover almost the entire top surface. In the middle of its back, there is a row of 1 to 3 larger thorns. The middle thorn is usually the biggest and looks like a pearl. Denticles are also on the back and sides of the tail, near and behind the sting. When it is alive, its back is covered by a thick layer of mucus.
The top of the stingray is plain olive to brown in color. It becomes pinkish near the edges of its body and on its pelvic fins. The color darkens to almost black towards the tip of its tail. The underside of its body is almost white. It becomes pinkish near the fin edges. The pointed, denticle-covered snout helps tell this stingray apart from others in its group. The largest roughnose stingray found was 72 cm (about 28 inches) wide.
Roughnose Stingray Life Cycle
Like other stingrays, the roughnose stingray gives birth to live young. This means they do not lay eggs. The baby stingrays grow inside the mother. They first get food from a yolk sac. Later, they are fed by a special "uterine milk" made by the mother. One female stingray was found carrying a single baby that was almost ready to be born.
Newborn roughnose stingrays are about 22 to 23 cm (about 8.7 to 9.1 inches) wide. Male stingrays become old enough to have babies when they are 28 to 40 cm (about 11 to 16 inches) wide. Females become mature when they are 50 to 60 cm (about 20 to 24 inches) wide.
How Humans Affect Roughnose Stingrays
People fish for roughnose stingrays a lot in many places where they live. Fishermen use long lines with many hooks to catch them off Kalimantan. This species is also sometimes caught by fishing nets that drag along the bottom. These are called bottom trawls or gillnets. This happens off Kalimantan and Sumatra. People use the meat of the stingray. Its skin is probably used too.
Another big problem for the roughnose stingray is that its home is being destroyed. From 1980 to 2005, over 30% of the mangrove forests in Malaysia and Indonesia were cut down. Mangroves are very important homes for these stingrays. Also, the areas where they live are getting polluted. This happens from things like blast fishing, farm chemicals running into the water, and building along the coast.
Because of all these problems, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said this stingray is Endangered.
