Fifteen pelagic stingrays were used for a short-term feeding and growth experiment from March 1 to October 18, 1995 in a 3 m diameter tank (T = 17.8C) at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Stillborn litters of 3 and 1 were observed in this tank on Sept. 7 and 19, respectively. Additional birth data for 12 litters from four aquaria in Japan, Spain, and California, born between October and March (1984-1995), and field data of 38 specimens in the SIO collection (1953-1990) were available. We report morphometrics, feeding, and growth data of captive pelagic rays. The litter data suggests different reproductive parameters for pelagic stingray populations in the Pacific, Atlantic, and the Mediterranean Sea. We propose that the eastern Pacific population gives birth in winter far off the coast of Central America and then moves to higher latitudes nearer the coast.
Keywords Pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon violacea, Dasyatis violacea, population, distribution, morphometrics, feeding, growth, reproductive parameters
Abstract for 1996 AES New Orleans presentation
Added to home page : March. 15, 1996. HFM