''Paratrygon'' aiereba (also known as discus ray, manzana ray or ceja ray) is a

cartilaginous fish Chondrichthyes (; ) is a class that contains the cartilaginous fishes that have skeletons primarily composed of cartilage. They can be contrasted with the Osteichthyes or ''bony fishes'', which have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Potamotrygonidae from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

basin in South America.

Appearance

This freshwater ray has small eyes and a disc shaped roughly like a

lily pad Nymphaeaceae () is a family of flowering plants, commonly called water lilies. They live as rhizomatous aquatic herbs in Temperate climate, temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains nine genera with about 70 know ...

(the snout is slightly concave). It is brownish above with a dark

vermiculated Vermiculation is a surface pattern of dense but irregular lines, so called from the Latin ''vermiculus'' meaning "little worm" because the shapes resemble worms, worm-casts, or worm tracks in mud or wet sand. The word may be used in a number of ...

or reticulated pattern. It reaches up to in disc width and in weight, making it one of the largest species in the family. There are unconfirmed claims of much larger individuals, but these are considered highly questionable. Most individuals do not surpass a disc width of . Males reach maturity at a disc width of about and females at about .

Behavior

It mainly feeds on fish, but also take invertebrates such as insects and crustaceans, and it is a

top predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...

in its habitat. Adults are found in relatively deep waters in main river channels, but move to shallower waters to feed at night. After a nine-month gestation, the female give birth to an average of two young with a disc width of about . Juveniles are found in relatively shallow waters at sandy beaches and in creeks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3259324 Fish described in 1841