Aetobatus ocellatus

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Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus Maldives.jpg
Aetobatus ocellatus in the Maldives
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Aetobatidae
Genus: Aetobatus
Species:
A. ocellatus
Binomial name
Aetobatus ocellatus
(Kuhl, 1823)

The ocellated eagle ray or the whitespotted eagle ray, Aetobatus ocellatus, is a species of cartilaginous fish in the eagle ray family Myliobatidae. It is found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific region. [2] [3] In the past it was included in the spotted eagle ray (A. narinari), a species restricted to the Atlantic after the split. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Description and behavior

Compared to the spotted eagle ray, A. ocellatus has a longer tail (mean total length 281 vs. 263% DW) and a longer stinging spine (mean length 9.7 vs. 8.9% DW). The background coloration of the dorsal surface in A. ocellatus is dark greenish/greying to almost blackish whereas A. narinari is much paler, medium yellowish to brownish. [4] Their foraging range is based on anthropogenic noises with populations structured according to ontogenetic stage. [7]

Reproduction

The ocellated eagle ray exhibits ovoviviparity with embryos feeding on yolk initially, then receiving additional nutrients from the mother through indirect absorption of enriched uterine fluid. [8] The gestation period lasts over 12 months and only produces a few pups. [9]

Diet

The ocellated eagle ray feeds primarily on gastropod, bivalve molluscs, crustaceans, worms, octopuses and fishes. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myliobatiformes</span> Order of cartilaginous fishes

Myliobatiformes is one of the four orders of batoids, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They were formerly included in the order Rajiformes, but more recent phylogenetic studies have shown the myliobatiforms to be a monophyletic group, and its more derived members evolved their highly flattened shapes independently of the skates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eagle ray</span> Family of cartilaginous fishes

The eagle rays are a group of cartilaginous fishes in the family Myliobatidae, consisting mostly of large species living in the open ocean rather than on the sea bottom.

<i>Myliobatis</i> Genus of cartilaginous fishes

Myliobatis is a genus of eagle rays in the family Myliobatidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull ray</span> Species of cartilaginous fish

Aetomylaeus bovinus, also known as the bull ray, duckbill ray, or duckbill eagle ray, is a species of large stingray of the family Myliobatidae found around the coasts of Europe and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted eagle ray</span> Species of fish

The spotted eagle ray is a cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray family, Aetobatidae. As traditionally recognized, it is found globally in tropical regions, including the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Recent authorities have restricted it to the Atlantic with other populations recognized as the ocellated eagle ray and Pacific white-spotted eagle ray. Spotted eagle rays are most commonly seen alone, but occasionally swim in groups. They are ovoviviparous, the female retaining the eggs then releasing the young as miniature versions of the parent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longheaded eagle ray</span> Species of cartilaginous fish

The longheaded eagle ray is a species of eagle ray in the family Myliobatidae. The longheaded eagle ray, like other members of the genus Aetobatus, is characteristically different from other genera of eagle rays, distinguished by their notched nasal curtain; complete, singular set of upper and lower teeth; and v-shaped teeth in the lower jaw. It is found in the tropical and warm temperate Indo-West Pacific. It formerly included populations in the northwest Pacific, but these were recognized as a separate species, Aetobatus narutobiei, in 2013. Longheaded eagle rays are benthopelagic fishes that feed on crustaceans, cephalopods, echinoderms, and small bony fishes. It is a poorly known species, but generally uncommon and considered endangered by the IUCN.

<i>Aetobatus</i> Genus of cartilaginous fishes

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.

<i>Aetomylaeus</i> Genus of cartilaginous fishes

Aetomylaeus is a genus of eagle rays in the family Myliobatidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornate eagle ray</span> Species of cartilaginous fish

The ornate eagle ray or reticulate eagle ray is a species of large stingray of the family Myliobatidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple eagle ray</span> Species of fish

The purple eagle ray is a species of fish in the family Myliobatidae. It was formerly considered endemic to Australia but is now known to be more widespread. Its natural habitat is the open seas where it has a patchy distribution, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being "near-threatened".

<i>Aetobatus narutobiei</i> Species of cartilaginous fish

Aetobatus narutobiei, the Naru eagle ray, is a species of cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray family, Myliobatidae. It is found in the northwest Pacific off south Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam. It occurs from shallow, coastal flats to a depth of 59 m (194 ft), but always in water warmer than 15 °C (59 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitespotted grouper</span> Species of fish

The whitespotted grouper, also known as the rankin cod, ocellated rockcod, small-spotted cod, white-spotted reef-cod or whitespotted rockcod, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. It has an Indo-Pacific distribution. It is closely related to two other species of white spotted groupers in the genus Epinephelus.

<i>Lepidocephalichthys hasselti</i> Species of fish

Lepidocephalichthys hasselti is a species of cobitid loach native to southeastern Asia and western Indonesia. This species reaches a length of 45 millimetres (1.8 in) TL.

<i>Aetobatus laticeps</i> Species of cartilaginous fish

Aetobatus laticeps, the Pacific white-spotted eagle ray, is a species of cartilaginous fish in the eagle ray family Myliobatidae. It is found in the tropical East Pacific Ocean, ranging from Baja California to northern Peru, including the Galápagos. There has been recent evidence to suggest A.laticeps is in the Mexican tropical Pacific, more specifically in Chacahua Lagoon. However this evidence is insufficient and so the research being done on the spotted eagle rays in Chacahua Lagoon is working under the name A. narinari. Until 2014, it was included in the similar spotted eagle ray, but the two differ in genetics. Studies have been conducted to attempt to identify spot patterns at the individual level. A. laticeps and A. narinari both have white spots on the dorsal side of their dark body, making them difficult to differentiate. Following the split, A. narinari is restricted to the Atlantic, while the Indo-Pacific is inhabited by the closely related A. ocellatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jakarta Aquarium</span> Jakarta Aquarium in Indonesia

Jakarta Aquarium and Safari is a marine and freshwater aquarium located within a retail and leisure complex Neo Soho in Jakarta, Indonesia. The aquarium is home to hundreds of mammal, reptile, insect and various types of Indonesian marine fish, is to introduce to the next generation the biodiversity of the archipelago starting from islands, forests, and mangroves.

The ocellate soapfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish with a wide Indo-Pacific distribution. It is the only species in the genus Grammistops. It is also known as the ocellated soapfish, ocellated podge, or false-eyed soapfish. The specific name ocellatus refers to the ocellate (eye-like) spot on the operculum.

References

  1. Kyne, P.M.; Dudgeon, C.L.; Ishihara, H.; Dudley, S.F.J.; White, W.T. (2016). "Aetobatus ocellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T42566169A42566212. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T42566169A42566212.en . Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. "Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  3. Kuhl, H. in van Hasselt, J.C. (1823) Uittreksel uit een’ brief van Dr. J. C. van Hasselt, aan den Heer C. J. Temminck. Algemein Konst- en Letter-bode I Deel (no. 20): 315–317.
  4. 1 2 White, W.T., P.R. Last, G.J.P. Naylor, K. Jensen & J.N. Caira (2010). Clarification of Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae). Pp. 141–164 in: Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J., eds. (2010). Descriptions of new sharks and rays from Borneo. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper no. 32.
  5. Richards, V. P.; Henning, M.; Witzell, W.; Shivji, M. S. (2009). "Species Delineation and Evolutionary History of the Globally Distributed Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari)". Journal of Heredity. 100 (3): 273–283. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esp005 . PMID   19304741.
  6. White, William T. (2014). "A revised generic arrangement for the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, with definitions for the valid genera". Zootaxa. 3860 (2): 149–66. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3860.2.3. PMID   25283197.
  7. Lecchini, David (2018). "Distribution patterns of ocellated eagle rays, Aetobatus ocellatus, along two sites in Moorea Island, French Polynesia". Cybium. 42 (4): 313–320.
  8. Dulvy, Nicholas K.; Reynolds, John D. (1997). "Evolutionary transitions among egg–laying, live–bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 264 (1386): 1309–1315. Bibcode:1997RSPSB.264.1309D. doi:10.1098/rspb.1997.0181. PMC   1688595 .
  9. Schluessel, V (2010). "Diet and reproduction in the white-spotted eagle ray Aetobatus nari- nari from Queensland, australia and the Penghu islands, Taiwan". Mar. Freshw. Res. 61 (11): 1278–1289. doi:10.1071/MF09261.
  10. Randall, J.E. and Cea, A. (2011). Shore fishes of Easter Island. University of Hawai'i Press, 164 p.