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White spotted freshwater stingray, Potamotrygon sp.

Potamotrygon sp. "P14" is believed to a currently undescribed member species, as Matt Clarke explains.

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Common name: White spotted freshwater stingray, White blotched river stingray, P14
Scientific name: Potamotrygon sp. "P14"
Size: Fully grown at a disc size of about 40cm/16", so on the small side for a freshwater ray.
Origin: Little is known about the distribution of this species since it is found in some of the most difficult to navigate rivers in South America. The closely related, and possibly identical P. leopoldi is primarily known from the Rio Xingu, but has also been collected in the Rio Fresco in Brazil.
Water: Like all rays, this species demands the best water conditions available. It is best kept in RO-based systems containing minimal nitrate and with a slightly acidic pH and hardness.
Diet: This species feeds on small fish and shrimps and will accept frozen foods in captivity.
Identification: P14 owner Richard Ridgway told me: "The P14 is found in the same part of the river as Pearl rays and when you put the two side buy side you can see they are different. The P14 has a much shorter tail. It also has spots on the under side of the disk like a henlei. They also stay a fair bit smaller than leopoldi or henlei with a max disk size of 16" where as the other two can reach two feet. Both leopoldi and henliei are born black, but P14 go through a complete color change and don't turn full black for up to a year."
Conservation: This fish is believed to be an undescribed member of the Potamotrygon genus and has much in common with leopoldi - it may even be a geographic race of this species. P. leopoldi, like many Potamotrygon rays, may be under threat of extinction due to habitat destruction from mining in the area, as well as collection for the aquarium trade. However, the IUCN Redlist for fishes states that data is deficient for leopoldi, so until further studies are undertaken its true conservation status will not be known. As of 2004, this species was not supposed to be exported legally from Brazil. P. leopoldi one of several rays covered in IBAMA's quota system. This allows the export of: 10,000 P. motoro, 5000 P. orbignyi (erroneously sold as reticulatus in the UK aquatic trade and frequently incorrectly labelled in books and magazines), 5000 P. schroderi and 10000 P. sp. 'Cururui' per year. P. leopoldi and the similarly stunning P. henlei are not supposed to be exported. Although expensive and uncommon, this fish is not unobtainable.
Availability: This species is quite rare in the trade.
Price: P. leopoldi usually sells for prices upwards of £250. P14 tends to cost more.

This article was produced exclusively for the Practical Fishkeeping website.

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Matt Clarke 447 (words, 8252 hits)
Published online: 11.20.04


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