Pacific chupare whipray

About the Pacific chupare whipray

The Pacific chupare or Pacific whiptail stingray (Styracura pacifica) is a species of stingray in the family Potamotrygonidae. It has been reported off the Pacific coast of Central America from Oaxaca, Mexico to Costa Rica, and also around the Galapagos Islands. It is usually found in shallow water on soft silty or muddy flats; it is unknown whether this species is tolerant of low salinity like the related chupare stingray (S. schmardae). Leonard Compagno doubted the taxonomic validity of this species in his 1999 Checklist of Living Elasmobranchs.

This stingray attains a maximum known length of 150 cm (59 in) and a disk width of 60 cm (24 in). It has a rounded pectoral fin disk and a broadly angled snout with a small protuberance at the tip. The tail lacks fin folds but has a low ventral keel. The dorsal surface of the body and tail are covered with rough dermal denticles. There are large tubercles with four radial ridges on the shoulder region. A venomous spine is present on the tail.

Known parasites of this species include the nematode Echinocephalus janzeni and the cestodes Acanthobothroides pacificus and Rhinebothrium geminum. Reproduction... Wikipedia →