Fontitrygon ukpam (Smith, 1863)
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 pincushion ray or thorny freshwater stingray (Fontitrygon ukpam), is a little-known species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae, found in the rivers and lakes of West and Middle Africa. A heavy-bodied ray measuring up to 1.2 m (4 ft) across, this species can be distinguished by its rounded pectoral fin disk, reduced or absent stinging tail spine, and—in adults—numerous stout thorns covering its back and tail. In lieu of a long tail spine as in other stingrays, the pincushion ray employs these thorny denticles in defense. Seldom encountered since it was originally described, this species has been assessed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Wikipedia contributors, Pincushion ray; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:33:13.090055+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Fontitrygon ukpam (Smith, 1863)
- Name authority
- (Smith, 1863)
- 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: no · Freshwater: yes · 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 ukpam (Smith, 1863)
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 margarita (Günther, 1870) | DasyatidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Fontitrygon geijskesi (Boeseman, 1948) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Hemitrygon ukpam Smith, 1863 Smith, 1863 | synonym |
| Dasyatis ukpam (Smith, 1863) (Smith, 1863) | synonym |
| Trygon ukpam (Smith, 1863) (Smith, 1863) | synonym |
| Urogymnus ukpam (Smith, 1863) (Smith, 1863) | 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=1420096 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:6JDLK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.