page_title: Potamotrygon falkneri
section_title: Taxonomy and appearance
hierarchical_section_title: Potamotrygon falkneri / Taxonomy and appearance
caption_attribution_description: Vermiculate river stingray (Potamotrygon castexi) at the National Zoo
context_page_description: Potamotrygon falkneri, the largespot river stingray or reticulated freshwater stingray, is a species of freshwater stingray in the family Potamotrygonidae from tropical and subtropical South America. It is sometimes seen in the aquarium trade, but requires a very large tank.
context_section_description: This species was originally described by ichthyologists Castex and Maciel in 1963.
  This species is densely spotted above, but the exact color and pattern are very variable. One of these types was initially described as a separate species P. castexi and another as P. menchacai. Intermediates between the various patterns are common, and all represent variants of the species P. falkneri. It reaches a disc width of up to 52 cm (20 in) and a total length, including tail, up to 89 cm (35 in).
  The so-called "tiger stingray" has sometimes been misidentified as P. menchacai (a synonym of P. falkneri), but it is a separate species that only was scientifically described as P. tigrina in 2011.
caption: Dark greyish individual with small spots, some arranged in clusters
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