Pelagic Stingray - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The distribution of the pelagic stingray extends nearly worldwide in tropical to warm-temperate pelagic waters, between the latitudes of 52°N and 50°S. In the western Atlantic, it has been reported from the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to North Carolina, the northern Gulf of Mexico, and the Lesser Antilles, Brazil and Uruguay. In the eastern Atlantic, this species has been recorded from the North Sea to Madeira, including the Mediterranean Sea, as well as around Cape Verde, in the Gulf of Guinea and off South Africa. In the Pacific, it is known from Japan to Australia and New Zealand in the west, British Columbia to Chile in the west, and around many oceanic islands including Hawaii, the Galápagos, and Easter Island. There have been no reports of this species from much of the Indian Ocean, but it is known to be common in the southwestern portion and around Indonesia.

Unique amongst stingrays in inhabiting the open ocean rather than the sea floor, the pelagic stingray is generally found from the surface to a depth of 100 m (330 ft) over deep water. It has also been caught at a depth of 330–381 m (1,080–1,250 ft) over the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, indicating that it at least occasionally approaches the bottom. This species prefers water temperatures above 19 °C (66 °F), and will die if the temperature drops to 15 °C (59 °F).

The pelagic stingray performs seasonal migrations following warm water masses. In the northwestern Atlantic, it is found in or near the Gulf Stream from December to April, and moves north of the Stream to gather near the continental shelf from July to September. A similar migration seems to occur in the Mediterranean, though the specifics are unknown. In the Pacific, this species apparently spends the winter in oceanic waters near the equator and move into higher latitudes and towards the coast in spring. Two Pacific populations are known: one migrates from near Central America to California, and the other from the central Pacific to as far as Japan and British Columbia. Off southeastern Brazil, pelagic stingrays are displaced towards the coast by upwellings of cold water in late spring and summer; in some years they may even be pushed into inshore waters less than 45 m (148 ft) deep.