Sixgill stingray

Sixgill stingray
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Chondrichthyes
Subclass:	Elasmobranchii
Clade:	Batomorphi
Order:	Myliobatiformes
Family:	Hexatrygonidae Heemstra & M. M. Smith, 1980
Genus:	Hexatrygon Heemstra & M. M. Smith, 1980
Species:	H. bickelli
Binomial name
Hexatrygon bickelli Heemstra & M. M. Smith, 1980
Range of the sixgill stingray[2]
Synonyms
Hexatrematobatis longirostris Chu & Meng, 1981 Hexatrygon brevirostra Shen, 1986 Hexatrygon taiwanensis Shen, 1986 Hexatrygon yangi Sheng & Liu, 1984

The sixgill stingray (Hexatrygon bickelli) is a species of stingray and the only extant member of the family Hexatrygonidae. Although several species of sixgill stingrays have been described historically, they may represent variations in a single, widespread species. This flabby, heavy-bodied fish, described only in 1980, is unique among rays in having six pairs of gill slits rather than five. Growing up to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) long, it has a rounded pectoral fin disc and a long, triangular, and flexible snout filled with a gelatinous substance. It is brownish above and white below, and lacks dermal denticles.

Benthic in nature, the sixgill stingray is usually found over upper continental slopes and seamounts at depths of 500–1,120 m (1,640–3,670 ft). It has been recorded from scattered locations in the Indo-Pacific from South Africa to Hawaii. This species probably uses its snout to probe for food in the bottom sediment. Its jaws are greatly protrusible, allowing it to capture buried prey. The sixgill stingray gives live birth, with litters of two to five pups. The IUCN has assessed this ray as Least Concern, because it faces minimal fishing pressure across most of its range.