Genus · Stingrays

Plesiotrygon

Plesiotrygon is a genus with 2 species in this atlas, catalogued in the Stingrays section, recorded from Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. Adult sizes run from 6 in to 23 in. Every species below links to a full researched profile.

Species in atlas
2
Adult sizes
6–23 in
IUCN assessed
2 of 2 · 1 threatened
Recorded from
4 countries

About the genus

Plesiotrygon is a genus of freshwater stingrays in the family Potamotrygonidae, native to the western Amazon basin - the brief's countries are Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. The atlas's 2 species range widely in size, from 6–23 in, and the genus's defining feature is an unusually long, slender, whip-like tail relative to its disc, which gives both species their common names: the antenna ray (Plesiotrygon iwamae) and the dwarf antenna ray (P. nana). Like other potamotrygonids, they are cartilaginous fish that are fully freshwater-adapted, with a flattened disc-shaped body, eyes and spiracles on top of the head, and a mouth on the underside suited to feeding on invertebrates and small prey in sand and mud substrates.

Freshwater stingrays as a group are viviparous, bearing live young nourished in the uterus, and carry a venomous serrated spine on the tail used purely in self-defence - a feature that makes careful handling essential wherever they are kept. Conservation status for this genus leans toward concern: one species is assessed as Vulnerable and the other Near Threatened, in line with the broader pressure freshwater stingrays face from habitat loss and collection across the Amazon basin.

IUCN Red List: Vulnerable · 1 Near Threatened · 1

The 2 species

Every Plesiotrygon recorded in this atlas. Each card links to a full researched profile — distribution, water parameters, and aquarium care, cited to primary sources.

Rosa, Castello & Thorson, 1987

Antenna ray, Longtail river stingray, Antenna stingray

23 in DW · VU

Carvalho & Ragno, 2011

Dwarf antenna ray

6 in DW · NT

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How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Genus Plesiotrygon. Aquarist Atlas. https://www.aquaristatlas.com/plesiotrygon/

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