Pearl stingray

Dasyatis Margaritella

Dasyatis Margaritella is a Stechrochenart and lives off the coasts of West Africa.

Features

Dasyatis Margaritella has a round and comparatively thin pectoral fin disk, which is about as wide as long and widths up to 30 cm in total weights of up to one kilo reached. The tip of the narrow snout projecting well above the circular disk addition. The eyes are followed by approximately equal spray holes. In the middle of the back there is a spike whose tip terminates with an oval pearl, from which the name of the species is derived (Latin Margaritella = small pearl ). The tail bears above usually an individual, but sometimes several poisonous sting. At the base of the tail is broad and flat, behind the sting he is thin and whip-like. The coloring of the disc top is gray-brown, the white the bottom completely.

Way of life

The Ray lives in the eastern Atlantic between Ras Nouadhibou and Angola preferred over sandy soil in near-coastal shallow water. In part, it is also found in lagoons and estuaries and occasionally penetrates into the lower reaches of the Congo. About his diet is practically nothing is known. He is ovoviviparous with litters of one to three pups.

From coast fishermen it is fished with longline, beam trawl and trammel nets and fresh, smoked, dried or salted sold for human consumption. As Dasyatis margarita he would probably be seen as vulnerable when it is rare fished also targeted because of its smaller size. Because of the frequent confusion with this but there are no reliable catch and stock figures and it is classified by the IUCN with DD (data deficit ).