Species: Pteroplatytrygon violacea, Blue Stingray, Pelagic Stingray

Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832)

Pelagic Stingray, Blue Stingray

Disc broad, wedge-shaped, wider than long, front broadly convex, sides straight; snout relatively long (8-15% of disc width); eyes very small; nostrils with a large fringed curtain between them and the mouth; mouth slightly arched, floor of mouth with cross row of 10-12 forked, fleshy papillae, teeth with quadrangular bases, low sharp tips; a broad flap between round nostrils and mouth; a row of small thorns along center of back; no dorsal or tail fins; tail much longer than disc length, with thick base, tapering to a slender point, with one long large serrated venomous spine; tail without a dorsal ridge, with a deep ventral fleshy flap from tail origin to the base of the spine.

Upper surface dark purple to green-blue to black; lower surface dark brown to black.

Size: 163 cm long, 80 cm disc width.

Habitat: pelagic, continental shelf and open ocean, occasionally nearshore.

Depth: 0-381 m, usually near surface.

Probably circumtropical; the central US to Brazil.