Neotrygon - Maskrays

Neotrygon is a genus of stingrays in the family Dasyatidae commonly known as the Maskrays, native to the Indo-West Pacific. They are so named because of a distinctive color pattern around their eyes, resembling a mask. The species in this genus were originally placed in the genus Dasyatis by most authors. However, recent morphological and molecular analyses have conclusively showed that they represent a distinct group and so the genus Neotrygon was resurrected for them.

Aside from their mask-like color pattern, the maskrays are variable in coloration and can be plain or ornate. Their pectoral fin discs are largely smooth, with a single row of thorns along the dorsal midline. The mouth is small with two central papillae and a row of enlarged, long-cusped teeth halfway along the upper jaw on both sides. The nasal curtain, formed by the merging of the nasal flaps, is long and narrow. The tail is very short with well-developed dorsal and ventral fin folds and a filamentous tip, and is banded black and white past the stinging spine. In addition, Neotrygon species also differ from other stingrays in their buccal and skeletal morphology, as well as in the CO1 and NADH2 gene sequences.

Within the genus Neotrygon, species can be diagnosed by their nucleotide sequence at the CO1, NADH2, and cytochrome b gene loci. Alternative diagnoses have been proposed based on morphometrics but these were shown to be invalid.

There are currently 16 recognized species in the genus Neotrygon.