Deepwater stingray

Deepwater stingrays ( Plesiobatis daviesi )

The deep-water stingrays ( Plesiobatis daviesi ) is a ray species from the order Myliobatiformes. He is the only species of monotypic family Plesiobatidae.

The living area of ​​the deepwater stingrays is located at a depth 44-680 m. They are found on soft ground, where they feed on small fish, crabs, prawns and lobsters and squid and polychaete worms.

Its distribution area is the Indian Ocean between the southeast African coast (South Africa and Mozambique) and Southern India and the Pacific Ocean to the west between India and the Philippines in the east, between Japan and Australia in the north to the south. In 2003, also copies of Plesiobatis daviesi were observed at a depth of 650 m with an expedition to explore undersea canyon off Hawaii. Preference is thus the seas in the Indo -Pacific region between 33 ° north latitude and 33 ° south latitude are.

Because of his life in deep and hard to reach areas of the continental shelf life of the deepwater stingray is still little explored. Future deep-water expeditions will still discover in these habitats many undescribed creatures, including perhaps other species of the family deepwater stingrays.