Aetobatus Explained
Aetobatus is a genus of eagle rays native to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was formerly placed in Myliobatidae, but is now placed in its own family Aetobatidae based on salient differences from myliobatids, especially the pectoral fins joining the head at the level of the eyes.[1]
Species
There are currently either 3 or 5 recognized extant species in this genus depending on the status of A. narinari:
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|
| Long-headed eagle ray[2] | Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) | Indo-West Pacific |
| Pacific white-spotted eagle ray[3] | Aetobatus laticeps (T. N. Gill, 1865) | Baja California to northern Peru, including the Galápagos |
| Spotted eagle ray | Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasén, 1790) | Atlantic (including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico); worldwide if A. ocellatus and A. laticeps are considered subspecies |
| Naru eagle ray[4] | Aetobatus narutobiei W. T. White, Furumitsu, A. Yamaguchi, 2013 | northwest Pacific off south Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam |
| Ocellated eagle ray[5] | Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) | Indo-West Pacific |
|
There are also 6 extinct species (only known from fossil remains) placed in this genus:
- †Aetobatus arcuatus
- †Aetobatus cappettai
- †Aetobatus irregularis
- †Aetobatus punctatus
- †Aetobatus poeyi
- †Aetobatus sinhaleyus
See also
References
Notes and References
- White, W. T. & Naylor, G. J. P. (2016). Resurrection of the family Aetobatidae (Myliobatiformes) for the pelagic eagle rays, genus Aetobatus. Zootaxa 4139, 435–438. 10.11646/zootaxa.4139.3.10
- White, W.T. . Moore, A.B.M. . amp . 2013 . Redescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), an endangered eagle ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific . Zootaxa . 3752 . 1 . 199–213 . 10.11646/zootaxa.3752.1.12 . 25229115 .
- White, W.T. (2014): A revised generic arrangement for the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, with definitions for the valid genera. Zootaxa, 3860 (2): 149–166.
- White, W.T., Furumitsu, K. & Yamaguchi, A. (2013): A New Species of Eagle Ray Aetobatus narutobiei from the Northwest Pacific: An Example of the Critical Role Taxonomy Plays in Fisheries and Ecological Sciences. PLoS ONE, 8 (12): e83785.
- White, W.T. . Last, P.R. . Naylor, G.J.P. . Jensen, K. . Caira, J.N. . amp . 2010 . Clarification of Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae). In: Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J (Eds.), Descriptions of New Sharks and Rays from Borneo . CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research . Paper 032 . 141–164 . 2015-07-28 . 2019-02-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190215032723/http://prosper.cofc.edu/~sharkevolution/pdfs/Clarification%20of%20Aetobatus.pdf . dead .
