Cartilaginous fish · Myliobatiformes · Potamotrygonidae

Ocellate Freshwater Stingray

Potamotrygon motoro

Data Deficient

There is not enough information to assess its risk of extinction. See full glossary

The ocellate freshwater stingray is one of the best known freshwater rays of South America, its back covered in orange ocelli ringed with black. The South American river rays descend from marine rays that were trapped in the Amazon basin when the sea withdrew, and today they are entirely freshwater animals.

Weight

5 kg – 15 kg

Size

35 cm – 1 m

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

RainforestFreshwaterCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Fish Rainforest Freshwater

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Fun facts

Its lineage was trapped inland: it descends from marine rays that moved up the Amazon when that basin was an arm of the sea, and when the ocean withdrew they adapted completely to fresh water, losing the ability to tolerate salinity.
Its tail sting causes very painful, slow-healing wounds, and is one of the injuries most feared by fishermen and bathers on the Amazonian rivers.
It is heavily caught for the aquarium trade, and its export is regulated in Brazil and Colombia because of how little is known about the real state of its populations.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - cartilaginous skeleton (fish)
Habitat & environment: Rivers, lagoons and floodplains of Amazonia, the Orinoco and the Paraná
Birth weight: 10-13 cm disc width at birth
Size at birth: 10-13 cm disc width at birth; it is viviparous
Sexual maturity: 3 years
Gestation / incubation: 3 months of gestation
Litter / clutch size: 6 live young