First record of the pelagic stingray Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832) from the Red Sea

The pelagic stingray, Pteroplatytrygon violacea (Bonaparte, 1832), is the only fully pelagic member of the family Dasyatidae and is distributed across tropical and subtropical oceanic habitats worldwide. Despite its occurrence throughout the Indian Ocean and recent documentation in the eastern Mediterranean waters, the species has not previously been recorded from the adjacent Red Sea. Here we report the first confirmed record of P. violacea from the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba), based on a mature male (visually estimated ~45 cm disc width) incidentally caught by an artisanal fisher from epipelagic habitats within the territorial waters of Jordan (29.486°N, 34.965°E) on 30 May 2025. Identification was made from photographic and video evidence and is supported by a combination of morphological characters diagnostic for the species, including: uniformly dark purplish-brown to blackish coloration on both dorsal and ventral surfaces, a rhomboid disc wider than long with angular pectoral fin apices, a short and broadly rounded snout, and a single median row of small denticles on an otherwise smooth disc. Identification follows systematic exclusion of all dasyatid species currently recorded from the region based on this character combination. This record extends the known distribution of P. violacea into the Red Sea, raising important questions about the species’ occurrence patterns in the basin and its connectivity with the Indian Ocean or Mediterranean Sea.