Updated 3 April 2024
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Stingrays
Subfamily DASYATINAE Jordan & Gilbert 1879
Bathytoshia Whitley 1933 bathýs (Gr. βαθύς), deep, presumably referring to ocean habitat of Dasyatis thetidis (=B. lata) compared with riverine habitat of Hemitrygon fluviorum, which Whitley placed in a genus he called Toshia, described in the same paper; both Toshia and Bathytoshia are named after the late James R. Tosh (1872–1917), Scottish marine biologist and inland waterway engineer, Marine Department of Queensland, who mentioned and illustrated stingrays in a report on the fishes of Moreton Bay, Australia [biographical footnote: Tosh died of heat stroke while working for the British Red Cross in Iraq]
Bathytoshia brevicaudata (Hutton 1875) brevis (L.), short; caudata (L.), tailed, referring to short tail, usually shorter than disc length; Hutton added, “The end of the tail of this specimen is broken off; but it is evident that it could only have extended a few inches further”
Bathytoshia centroura (Mitchill 1815) centro-, from kéntron (Gr. κέντρον), prickle; ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to “prickly shields or scales” on tail
Bathytoshia lata (Garman 1880) feminine of latus (L.), broad or wide, referring to its wider disc compared with Hypanus longus, its presumed congener at the time
Dasyatis Rafinesque 1810 dasýs (Gr. δασύς), hairy or shaggy, referring to prickly skin of D. ujo (=pastinaca); -atis, from batís (Gr. βατίς), a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray
Dasyatis chrysonota (Smith 1828) gold-backed, from chrysós (Gr. χρυσός), gold, and nṓtos (Gr. νῶτος), back, referring to its golden-green dorsal coloration
Dasyatis hypostigma Santos & Carvalho 2004 hypó (Gr. ὑπό), less than, under or beneath; stigma, from stígma (Gr. στίγμα) or stigmḗ (στιγμή), mark or spot, referring to distinctive W-shaped furrow on ventral surface behind fifth pair of gill slits
Dasyatis marmorata (Steindachner 1892) Latin for marbled, referring to dark reticular pattern of dorsal surface
Dasyatis pastinaca (Linnaeus 1758) Latin for parsnip, a name dating to Pliny, presumably referring (per Salviani, 1558, Aquatilium Animalium Historiae) to how its tail “closely resembles the root of a parsnip in color, roundness and length” (translation)
Dasyatis tortonesei Capapé 1975 patronym not identified but clearly in honor of Enrico Tortonése (1911–1987), Museum of Natural History (Genoa, Italy), whose 1956 work on Mediterranean sharks and rays is frequently cited by Capapé
Hemitrygon Müller & Henle 1838 hemi-, from hḗmisys (Gr. ἥμισυς), half, proposed as a subgenus of Trygon (=Dasyatis)
Hemitrygon akajei (Müller & Henle 1841) aka, Japanese for red, referring to bright orange-red underside; jei, Japanese for skate or ray (described from Japan)
Hemitrygon bennettii (Müller & Henle 1841) patronym not identified, presumably in honor of British zoologist Edward Turner Bennett (1797–1836), whose anonymous contributions to batoid literature in an 1830 memoir on the life of Thomas Stamford Raffles are cited several times by Müller and Henle
Hemitrygon fluviorum (Ogilby 1908) genitive plural of the Latin fluvius, stream or smaller river, referring to its ascending coastal rivers and estuaries “well above the tideway”
Hemitrygon izuensis (Nishida & Nakaya 1988) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Izu Peninsula, Japan, type locality
Hemitrygon laevigata (Chu 1960) Latin for smooth, referring to its entirely smooth dorsal surface, even in adults
Hemitrygon laosensis (Roberts & Karnasuta 1987) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Laos, referring to its distribution in the Mekong River at the Laos-Thailand border
Hemitrygon longicauda (Last & White 2013) longus (L.), long; cauda (L.), tail, referring to its very long tail, 2.3–2.9 times width of disc
Hemitrygon navarrae (Steindachner 1892) in honor of B. R. Navarra, possibly Bruno R. Navarra [1850–1911], Chinese-history scholar, who supplied the Imperial Court Museum of Natural History (Vienna) with fish specimens collected in Shanghai [although named after a man, “ae” is, per Latin grammar, a nomenclaturally acceptable way to form a genitive from nouns that end in “a”]
Hemitrygon parvonigra (Last & White 2008) parvo, from parvus (L.), little; nigra (L.), black, referring to its resemblance to a larger Australian species, the Black Stingray Dasyatis thetidis (=Bathytoshia lata)
Hemitrygon sinensis (Steindachner 1892) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Sinica (China), described from Shanghai, China
Hemitrygon yemenensis Moore, Last & Taylor 2020 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: eastern Yemen, on the Arabian Sea coast, type locality
Hypanus Rafinesque 1818 etymology not explained, perhaps hypér] (Gr. ὑπέρ), over or above (i.e., dorsal), and anus (L.), rectal opening (i.e., anal), referring to presence of both dorsal and anal fins on H. say, which Rafinesque compared with the lack of such fins on a ray he called Uroxys maclura (=Gymnura altavela, Gymnuridae) [Actually, Hypanus say does not have a dorsal fin, but Rafinesque apparently saw one (assuming he handled an actual specimen, which is doubtful). Another explanation is that Rafinesque was alluding to the dorsal and ventral folds along the tail; there is no internal evidence for this interpretation, but it is plausible.]
Hypanus americanus (Hildebrand & Schroeder 1928) –anus (L.), belonging to: probably referring to its distribution off coasts of both North and South America, from Crisfield, Maryland, USA (type locality), to Brazil
Hypanus berthalutzae Petean, Naylor & Lima 2020 in honor of Bertha Lutz (1894–1976), a “pioneering” Brazilian female zoologist who created the Brazilian Federation for Feminine Progress, leading to female suffrage in Brazil; since this species is restricted to Brazilian waters and most known specimens are females, the name represents female empowerment in Brazil, among those who work in science, and for those who fight for women’s rights as well
Hypanus dipterurus (Jordan & Gilbert 1880) double-fin tailed, from dýo (Gr. δύο), two, pterón (Gr. πτερόν) or ptéryx (πτέρυξ), fin, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to “conspicuous cutaneous fold below [tail] and a smaller but evident one above”
Hypanus geijskesi (Boeseman 1948) in honor of Dutch entomologist Dirk Cornelis Geijskes (1907–1985), Director, Suriname Museum, Paramaribo, who collected holotype and furnished Boeseman with many fishes from Suriname
Hypanus guttatus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) Latin for spotted or speckled, probably referring to black spots on dorsal surface as illustrated in Markgraf von Liebstadt’s Historiae naturalis brasiliae (1648)
Hypanus longus (Garman 1880) Latin for long, compared to its longer disc compared with Bathytoshia lata, its presumed congener at the time
Hypanus marianae (Gomes, Rosa & Gadig 2000) in honor of the third author’s daughter, Mariana R. Oliveria
Hypanus rudis (Günther 1870) Latin for rough, referring to “minute, dense asperities” on its tail and dorsal surface
Hypanus sabinus (Lesueur 1824) etymology not explained nor evident, perhaps from sabinas, a name given by early Spanish explorers to both bald cypress trees (Taxodium) and juniper trees (Juniperus), both of which are conspicuous botanical features of the likely coastal or wetland Florida (USA) habitat from which holotype was collected
Hypanus say (Lesueur 1817) in honor of American zoologist Thomas Say (1787–1834), Lesueur’s friend and colleague at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia [presumably a noun in apposition, without the patronymic “i”]
Megatrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 mégas (Gr. μέγας), big, referring to “massive bulk” of the “gigantic” M. microps; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Megatrygon microps (Annandale 1908) micro-, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small; ṓps (Gr. ὦψ), eye, referring to its relatively small eyes
Pteroplatytrygon Fowler 1910 pterón (Gr. πτερόν), fin; platýs (Gr. πλατύς), wide or broad, referring to its broad pectoral-fin disc; Trygon, original genus of P. violacea, from trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte 1832) Latin for violet-colored, referring to its body color
Taeniurops Garman 1913 ópsis (Gr. ὄψις), appearance, proposed as a subgenus of Taeniura
Taeniurops grabatus (Geoffroy St. Hilaire 1817) Latin for bed, translation of its ancient Arabic name farch (allusion not explained nor evident) [often incorrectly treated as an adjective, grabata]
Taeniurops meyeni (Müller & Henle 1841) in honor of Prussian physician- botanist Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen (1804–1840), who presumably collected or supplied specimens for Müller & Henle
Telatrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 tela-, from telum (L.), javelin, spear, arrow or dart, referring to long, narrowly pointed snout possessed by all members of the genus; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Telatrygon acutirostra (Nishida & Nakaya 1988) acutus (L.), sharp or pointed; rostra, from rostrum (L.), snout, referring to its long snout
Telatrygon biasa Last, White & Naylor 2016 Indonesian and Malaysian word meaning “ordinary, common or normal,” referring to its frequent occurrence in local fish markets of the western North Pacific
Telatrygon crozieri (Blyth 1860) patronym not identified but almost certainly in honor of British anatomy and physiology professor William Crozier (1816–1862), Blyth’s colleague at (and finance chair of) the Asiatic Society of Bengal
Telatrygon microphthalma (Chen 1948) small-eyed, from mikrós (Gr. μικρός), small, and ophthalmós (Gr. ὀφθαλμός), eye, referring to smaller eye compared with Brevitrygon imbricata and B. walga, its presumed congeners at the time
Telatrygon zugei (Müller & Henle 1841) zugu-ei, Japanese vernacular for this stingray
Shortsnout Stingrays
Subfamily NEOTRYGONINAE Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016
Neotrygon Castelnau 1873 néos (Gr. νέος), new, i.e., a new genus of Trygon (=Dasyatis)
Neotrygon annotata (Last 1987) án– (ἄν), Greek privative, i.e., not; notata (L.), marked, referring to lack of distinct ocelli, spots or blotches
Neotrygon australiae Last, White & Serét 2016 of Australia, referring to its Australasian distribution (Northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Lombok, Indonesia)
Neotrygon bobwardi Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen 2017 in honor of Robert D. (“Bob”) Ward, “one of the leaders of the fish barcoding initiative,” for his contribution to the systematics of chondrichthyans; his work revealed the occurrence of cryptic species within the nominal species N. kuhlii [questionably valid; based exclusively on DNA]
Neotrygon caeruleopunctata Last, White & Serét 2016 caeruleus (L.), sky blue; punctatus (L.), spotted, referring to its blue-spotted coloration and having a wider distribution than other blue-spotted congeners
Neotrygon kuhlii (Müller & Henle 1841) in honor of German zoologist Heinrich Kuhl (1797–1821), who died while collecting fauna and flora in Java; his collections, drawings and manuscripts, housed at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden, provided material for Müller & Henle and other biologists
Neotrygon leylandi (Last 1987) in honor of Guy Leyland (b. 1950), Principal Executive Officer, Western Australia Fishing Industry Council, for supplying most of the Australian material used in Last’s revision of the genus
Neotrygon malaccensis Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Strait of Malacca, type locality [questionably valid; based exclusively on DNA]
Neotrygon moluccensis Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Molucca Islands, Indonesia, type locality [questionably valid; based exclusively on DNA]
Neotrygon ningalooensis Last, White & Puckridge 2010 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Coral Bay, Ningaloo Marine Park, off central coast of Western Australia, type locality
Neotrygon orientalis Last, White & Serét 2016 Latin for eastern, referring to its South-East Asian distribution (Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, Philippines, Taiwan) [originally spelled orientale, emended to reflect feminine gender of genus]
Neotrygon picta Last & White 2008 Latin for painted or colored, referring to color pattern of “peppery spots on a well-defined or weak reticulate background”
Neotrygon trigonoides (Castelnau 1873) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: Trygon (=Dasyatis), referring to the similarity of their “entire, not marginated or divided” ventral fins
Neotrygon vali Borsa 2017 word for stingray in Gela, one of the languages spoken on Guadalcanal Island (type locality), and its common name among Guadalcanal fishers [questionably valid; based exclusively on DNA]
Neotrygon varidens (Garman 1885) varius] (L.), different; dens, from dentis (L.), tooth, referring to how its larger, triangular and pointed teeth on upper jaw distinguish it from other Dasybatis, its genus at time of description
Neotrygon westpapuensis Borsa, Arlyza, Hoareau & Shen 2017 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: West Papua, Indonesia type locality [questionably valid; based exclusively on DNA]
Taeniura Müller & Henle 1837 taenia (L.), from tainía (Gr. ταινία), band or ribbon;ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to fin fold underneath tail of T. lymna
Taeniura lessoni Last, White & Naylor 2016 in honor of René Lesson (1794–1849), French surgeon-naturalist, who once worked on members of this genus in Melanesia, where this stingray occurs
Taeniura lymma (Fabricius 1775) Arabic name for this stingray (described from Yemen) [authorship often given as (Forsskål 1775)]
Whiprays
Subfamily UROGYMNINAE Gray 1851
Brevitrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 brevis (L.), short, referring to short and semi-rigid tail of all members of the genus; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Brevitrygon heterura (Bleeker 1852) different-tailed, from héteros (Gr. ἕτερος), different, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to posterior half of tail considerably thicker in the middle compared with B. walga and other presumed congeners in Trygon
Brevitrygon imbricata (Bloch & Schneider 1801) Latin for overlapping like roofing-tiles or shingles, referring to a line of bony scales, or denticles, on shoulder and back and along the tail as far as the stinger
Brevitrygon javaensis (Last & White 2013) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: off the coast of Java, Indonesia, where it is endemic
Brevitrygon manjajiae Last, Weigmann & Naylor 2023 in honor of Mabel Manjaji-Matsumoto, University of Malaysia Sabah, for her contribution to the taxonomy of the whiprays; she was the first person to identify a unique feature of the tail coloration of this species
Brevitrygon walga (Müller & Henle 1841) etymology not explained, possibly a variant spelling of wolga, from Wolga Tenkée, a local name for this or a related stingray from the Ganges Delta of India
Fluvitrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 fluvius (L.), river, referring to riverine distribution of all members of the genus; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Fluvitrygon kittipongi (Vidthayanon & Roberts 2006) in honor of Bangkok aquarium-fish dealer Khun Jarutanin Kittipong (b. 1958), who collected holotype
Fluvitrygon oxyrhynchus (Sauvage 1878) sharp-snouted, from oxýs (Gr. ὀξύς), sharp or pointed, and rhýnchos (Gr. ῥύγχος), snout, referring to its elongate snout [sometimes spelled oxyrhyncha]
Fluvitrygon signifer (Compagno & Roberts 1982) signum (L.), mark; –fer, from fero (L.), to have or bear, referring to milk-white spots anterior to spiracles and posterior to eyes
Fontitrygon Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 fontis (L.), spring, referring to the ability of these stingrays to live in estuaries and fresh water; trygṓn (Gr. τρυγών), stingray, originating from ptérýx (Gr. πτέρυξ), wing, referring to the wing-like resemblance (and flying-like movement) of their pectoral fins
Fontitrygon colarensis (Santos, Gomes & Charvet-Almeida 2004) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Colares Island, district of Colares (Pará State, Brazil), type locality
Fontitrygon garouaensis (Stauch & Blanc 1962) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Garoua, northern Cameroon, type locality
Fontitrygon margarita (Günther 1870) Latin for pearl, referring to pearl spine, a single large round tubercle, like a pearl, at center of back
Fontitrygon margaritella (Compagno & Roberts 1984) diminutive of margarita (L.), pearl, referring to for overall smaller size and smaller pearl spine compared with F. margarita
Fontitrygon ukpam (Smith 1863) local name for freshwater stingrays in Nigeria, where type locality (Calabar River) is situated
Himantura Müller & Henle 1837 himántos (Gr. ἱμάντος), genitive of himás (ἱμάς), leather strap or thong; ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, referring to long, whip-like tail of H. uarnak
Himantura australis Last, White & Naylor 2016 Latin for southern, referring to its distribution in the tropical Southern Hemisphere
Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last 2008 modified from leopardus (L.), leopard, referring to leopard-like markings on dorsal surface of large specimens (>550 mm disc width)
Himantura marginata (Blyth 1860) Latin for bordered, referring to “broad dark margin” on lower part of body (except in front) “consisting of numerous large round spots”
Himantura uarnak (Gmelin 1789) Arabic name for this stingray (described from the Red Sea) [also spelled arnak in some pre-Linnaean literature]
Himantura undulata (Bleeker 1852) Latin for wavy, referring to black undulations on dorsal surface (which seems a curious description since the ray’s markings more closely resemble the spots of a leopard)
Maculabatis Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 macula (L.), stain, mark or spot, referring to spotted coloration and/or black-and-white banded tail of most members of the genus; batís (Gr. βατίς), a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray
Maculabatis ambigua Last, Bogorodsky & Alpermann 2016 Latin for uncertain or doubtful, referring to its “uncertain species level uniqueness,” i.e., very closely resembling plain-color morphs of M. gerrardi and M. randalli, but is more closely related to white-spotted members of the genus
Maculabatis arabica Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last 2016 –ica (L.), belonging to: Arabia, referring to its distribution in the Arabian Sea, off Pakistan and eastward to nearby Gujarat Province, India
Maculabatis astra (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Pogonoski 2008) astra-, from aster (L.), star or constellation, referring to dorsal coloration, “which usually consists of dark spots orbited in various ways by whitish spots, vaguely resembling a cluster of stars (most evident in larger specimens)”
Maculabatis bineeshi Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last 2016 in honor of Indian biologist K. K. Bineesh (b. 1981), “who has worked closely with local Indian colleagues to build a better understanding of the shark and ray fauna of the northern Indian Ocean”
Maculabatis gerrardi (Gray 1851) in honor of taxidermist Edward Gerrard (1810–1910), British Museum (Natural History), who assisted Gray with shark and ray identifications
Maculabatis macrura (Bleeker 1852) big-tailed, from makrós (Gr. μακρός), long or large, and ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail, described as three times longer than its disc, or body
Maculabatis pastinacoides (Bleeker 1852) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: described as similar to Dasyatis pastinaca
Maculabatis randalli (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Moore 2012) in honor of American ichthyologist John E. Randall (1924–2020), Bishop Museum (Honolulu), for “legendary” work on the taxonomy of Indo-Pacific fishes, and for being amongst the first to publish a photograph of this species (as H. gerrardi) in 1995
Maculabatis toshi (Whitley 1939) in honor of late James R. Tosh (1872–1917)1, Scottish marine biologist and inland waterway engineer, Marine Department of Queensland, who figured this ray in a 1902–1903 government report
Pateobatis Last, Naylor & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2016 pateo (L.), lie open or to be exposed, referring to the “eclectic nature” (i.e., morphologically heterogeneous) members of this genus; batís (Gr. βατίς), a flat fish, usually applied to a skate or ray
Pateobatis bleekeri (Blyth 1860) in honor of Dutch army surgeon and ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker (1819–1878), whose work is frequently cited in Blyth’s study of the cartilaginous fishes of Bengal (India)
Pateobatis fai (Jordan & Seale 1906) presumably the Samoan vernacular for this ray (described from Samoa)
Pateobatis hortlei (Last, Manjaji-Matsumoto & Kailola 2006) in honor of Kent Hortle, Australian fisheries and environmental consultant, who supplied the first photographs of the species and later collected fresh specimens for the type series from southern Irian Jaya
Pateobatis jenkinsii (Annandale 1909) in honor of British ichthyologist James Travis Jenkins (1876–1959), Fishery Advisor, Government of Bengal, who helped Annandale collect holotype
Pateobatis uarnacoides (Bleeker 1852) -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (Gr. εἶδος), form or shape: described as similar to Himantura uarnak, its presumed congener at the time
Urogymnus Müller & Henle 1837 ourá (Gr. οὐρά), tail; gymnus, from gymnós (Gr. γυμνός), bare or naked, referring to lack of venomous spine on tail of U. asperrimus
Urogymnus acanthobothrium Last, White & Kyne 2016 named for Acanthobothrium, a genus of cestode parasites, four species of which have been found on this ray (discovered during a field survey of the parasite fauna of northern Australian chondrichthyan fishes)
Urogymnus asperrimus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) Latin for very rough, referring to numerous large thorns covering back and tail of adults
Urogymnus dalyensis (Last & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2008) –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Daly River, Northern Territory, type locality
Urogymnus granulatus (Macleay 1883) –atus (L.), provided with: granum (L.), seed or grain, referring to its head and back “covered with small granules which extend on the ridge of the tail to the spine”
Urogymnus lobistoma Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last 2006) lobus (L.), from lobós (Gr. λοβός), elongated projection or protuberance; stóma (Gr. στόμα), mouth, referring to its protrusible, tube-like mouth
Urogymnus polylepis (Bleeker 1852) polý (Gr. πολύ), many; lepίs (Gr. λεπίς), scale, referring to smaller (and therefore more numerous) scales on tail compared with most congeners (then placed in Trygon) known to Bleeker
Cowtail Stingrays
Subfamily HYPOLOPHINAE Stromer 1910
Makararaja Roberts 2007 makara, Sanskrit for crocodile but also term for cosmological arches or gateways of Hindu temples shaped like the open jaws of a crocodile, referring to jaw shape of Pastinachus and this genus; raja, from raia (L.), ray or skate
Makararaja chindwinensis Roberts 2007 –ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Chindwin River, Irrawaddy basin, northern Myanmar, type locality
Pastinachus Rüppell 1829 Pastinachus, the name of a ray “known to the ancient naturalists” (translation), probably referring to Dasyatis pastinaca, from the Latin for parsnip, presumably referring (per Salviani, 1558, Aquatilium Animalium Historiae) to how its tail “closely resembles the root of a parsnip in color, roundness and length” (translation)
Pastinachus ater (Macleay 1883) Latin for black, referring to “jet glossy black” coloration of entire dorsal surface
Pastinachus gracilicaudus Last & Manjaji-Matsumoto 2010 gracilis (L.), slender or thin; caudus (L.), tail or appendage, referring to slender appearance of tail and narrow ventral cutaneous fold as compared to other members of the genus
Pastinachus sephen (Fabricius 1775) Arabic vernacular for this stingray, from safan, shagreen, referring to granulated skin, which is used to make leather for cases, bookbindings and other objects [authorship often given as (Forsskål 1775)]
Pastinachus solocirostris Last, Manjaji & Yearsley 2005 solocis (L.), rough or bristly; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to the “unusually rough texture of the snout”
Pastinachus stellurostris Last, Fahmi & Naylor 2010 stella (L.), star; rostris, Neo-Latin scientific adjective of rostrum (L.), snout, referring to star-shaped denticles on snout