Chupare Stingray, Styracura schmardae
Chupare Stingray, Styracura schmardae. Underwater photograph taken in coastal waters of Yal-Ku, Quintana Roo, April 2016. Photograph and identification courtesy of Juan Rojo, Akumal.
The Chupare Stingray, Styracura schmardae, is a member of the Stringray or Potamotrygoniade Family that is also known as the Atlantic Chupare and the Caribbean Whiptail Stingray and in Mexico as raya coluda canbeña. Globally, there are two species in the genus Styracura, both of which are found in Mexican waters, one in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific Ocean.
The Chupare Stingray has a round disk that is equal in length and width with a long, broad-angled snout. They are large is size having a maximum disc width of 2.0 m (6 feet 6 inches). Dorsally they are dark brown to olive in color with the edges of the disc near the tail being darker; the ventral side and pelvic fins are yellowish to creamy white. Their head is broad with small non-protruding eyes. The upper surface of the body and tail are covered with small tubercles and the shoulder margins have large tubercles with four radiating ridges on the shoulders. Their disc has flattened pectoral fins that are continuous and extend from their head to their tail base with the front margin being straight. Their head has a long, broad angled snout. Their mouth is arched with indentations of the symphysis and five papillae on the floor that is equipped with 28 to 36 rows of flattened cusps teeth on the upper jaw that have an elliptical base with a scalloped-edged central depression. They have 28 to 36 rows They have a relatively short, slender tail with the second half being whiplike that has subtle ventral and lateral ridges toward the base. They have one elongated slender venomous serrated spine located in the latter half of the tail and is potentially dangerous to humans.
The Chupare Stingray is a demersal species that is found over sandy substrate in fresh-water estuaries and sand flats near seagrasses, coral reefs and mangroves at depths up to 50 m (165 feet). They spend their days buried in sand half submerged on the bottom. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks, polychaetes, and other invertebrates and on small bony fish. Reproduction occurs in annual cycles via aplacental viviparity with internal fertilization. Embryos are sustained by a yolk sac for the initial sixty days after which they are nourished by uterine milk secreted by their mother. After a gestation period miniature adults are born. The Chupare Stingray is poorly studied with very limited information available about their lifestyle and behavioral patterns including specific details on age, growth, longevity, movement patterns, diet, habitat use, and reproduction.
The Chupare Stingray is a resident of Mexican waters of the Atlantic Ocean being found from Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico eastward around the Yucatán Peninsula and south in the Caribbean to Belize.
The Chupare Stingray is most likely and easily confused with the Southern Stingray, Hypanus americanus (uniform gray color; one long row of thorns along center of the back; two short rows of thorns on the shoulders).
From a conservation perspective the Chupare Stingray is currently considered to be Data Deficient. They have been subject to heavy fishing by both artisanal and commercial fishermen utilizing nets and hook and line. They are plagued by slow growth rates, long reproduction cycles and have now disappeared from many fisheries. They are found in areas with significant water quality declines due to human development and related habitat destruction of coastal bays and mangrove lagoons. They lack any form of management and catch levels lack specific details. They are sold at a minor level in some regions for human consumption. They are also utilized to produce gelatin and fish oil.