Fontitrygon margarita (Günther, 1870)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The daisy stingray, Fontitrygon margarita, is a little-known species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in shallow waters along the coast of West Africa. This species typically grows to 60 cm (24 in) across and has a rounded pectoral fin disc and (in adults) a wide band of dermal denticles over its back. It is characterized by a greatly enlarged, nacreous denticle in the middle of its back called a "pearl spine"; this feature is shared with the similar but much smaller pearl stingray (F. margaritella), which has often been confused with this species. The daisy stingray feeds mainly on crustaceans and exhibits aplacental viviparity, with litters of 1–4 young. Heavily pressured by fisheries and possibly habitat degradation, this once-common species is declining and has been assessed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Wikipedia contributors, Daisy stingray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:33:13.089055+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Fontitrygon margarita (Günther, 1870)
- Name authority
- (Günther, 1870)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Elasmobranchii
- Order
- Myliobatiformes
- Family
- Dasyatidae
- Genus
- Fontitrygon
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumChondrichthyes
- classElasmobranchii
- subclassNeoselachii
- infraclassBatoidea
- orderMyliobatiformes
- familyDasyatidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1879
- genusFontitrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto, 2016
- speciesFontitrygon margarita (Günther, 1870)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Fontitrygon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fontitrygon margaritella (Compagno & Roberts, 1984) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fontitrygon geijskesi (Boeseman, 1948) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fontitrygon ukpam (Smith, 1863) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Dasyatis margarita (Günther, 1870) (Günther, 1870) | synonym |
| Dasybatus margarita (Günther, 1870) (Günther, 1870) | synonym |
| Trygon margarita Günther, 1870 Günther, 1870 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1042838 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:6JDLF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.