| Myliobatis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Myliobatis californica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Order: | Myliobatiformes |
| Family: | Myliobatidae |
| Genus: | Myliobatis Cuvier, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Species | |
See text | |
Myliobatis is a genus of eagle rays in the family Myliobatidae.
Myliobatis species can reach a width up to about 1.8 m (6 ft). [2] Their bodies consist of a rhomboidal disc, wider than long, with one dorsal fin. The head is broad and short, with eyes and spiracles on the sides. The tail is slender, with one or two large spines at the base, without tail fin. [3]
The teeth are arranged in the lower and upper jaws in flat tooth plates called pavement teeth, each consisting of about seven series of plates, which are used to crush clam shells and crustaceans. [3]
Myliobatis species are ovoviviparous. Their gestation lasts about six months, and a female produces four to seven embryos. Myliobatis species mainly feed on molluscs, bottom-living crustaceans, and small fishes. [4]
Myliobatis species live in warm, shallow waters. Adults prefer sandy shores, while juveniles can usually be encountered offshore. [3] [4]
Currently, 11 species in this genus are recognized: [2] [5]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758) | common eagle ray | Atlantic Ocean (North Sea to South Africa), the Mediterranean Sea and the south-western Indian Ocean. |
 | Myliobatis australis Macleay, 1981 | Australian bull ray | Eastern Indian Ocean: southern Australia, from Western Australia to Queensland. [6] |
 | Myliobatis californica T. N. Gill, 1865 | bat eagle ray | eastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California. |
 | Myliobatis chilensis Philippi {Krumweide}, 1893 | Chilean eagle ray | coasts of Chile and Peru |
 | Myliobatis freminvillei Lesueur, 1824 | bullnose eagle ray | from Cape Cod down to Argentina |
 | Myliobatis goodei Garman, 1885 | southern eagle ray | Atlantic coast, from the tip of Florida down to Argentina |
 | Myliobatis hamlyni J. D. Ogilby, 1911 | purple eagle ray [7] | Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Okinawa |
| Myliobatis longirostris Applegate & Fitch, 1964 | snouted eagle ray | Pacific Ocean from Baja California and the Gulf of California to Sechura, Peru | |
| Myliobatis peruvianus Garman, 1913 | Peruvian eagle ray | Pacific Ocean off Chile and Peru. | |
| Myliobatis ridens Ruocco, Lucifora, Díaz de Astarloa, Mabragaña & Delpiani, 2012 | shortnose eagle ray [8] | southwestern Atlantic Ocean off Brazil and Argentina. | |
| | Myliobatis tenuicaudatus Hector, 1877 | Australian/New Zealand eagle ray | near rocky reefs around New Zealand and southern Australia |
 | Myliobatis tobijei Bleeker, 1854 | Japanese eagle ray [7] | Indonesia and the Philippines,Japan, Korea, and China. |
Extinct species within this genus include: [9]
These eagle rays lived from the Cretaceous to the Quaternary periods (from 70.6 to 0.012 Ma). Fossils of these fishes have been found worldwide. [9]
The extinct species Myliobatis dixoni is known from Tertiary deposits along the Atlantic seaboards of the United States, Brazil, Nigeria, England, and Germany. [9]
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.
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.
Scyliorhinus is a genus of catsharks in the family Scyliorhinidae. This genus is known in the fossil records from the Cretaceous period, late Albian age to the Pliocene epoch.
A barracuda is a large, predatory, ray-finned, saltwater fish of the genus Sphyraena, the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. It is found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide ranging from the eastern border of the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, on its western border the Caribbean Sea, and in tropical areas of the Pacific Ocean. Barracudas reside near the top of the water and near coral reefs and sea grasses. Barracudas are often targeted by sport-fishing enthusiasts.
The Lamnidae are the family of mackerel sharks known as white sharks. They are large, fast-swimming predatory fish found in oceans worldwide, though they prefer environments with colder water. The name of the family is formed from the Greek word lamna, which means "fish of prey", and was derived from the Greek legendary creature, the Lamia.
Ginglymostoma is a genus of shark in the family Ginglymostomatidae. There are two members in the genus. Members of this genus eat small fish and crustaceans, and are commonly quite lethargic unless provoked. Members of this genus have the ability to suck in water in order to remove snails from their shells in a manner that can be described as 'vacuum-like'.
The New Zealand eagle ray or Australian eagle ray is an eagle ray of the family Myliobatidae, found in bays, estuaries, and near rocky reefs around New Zealand and southern Australia on the inner continental shelf. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Dasyatis is a genus of stingray in the family Dasyatidae that is native to the Atlantic, including the Mediterranean. In a 2016 taxonomic revision, many of the species formerly assigned to Dasyatis were reassigned to other genera.
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.
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.
Aetomylaeus is a genus of eagle rays in the family Myliobatidae.
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".
The longnose eagle ray or snouted eagle ray is a species of fish in the family Myliobatidae. It is found in the East Pacific Ocean from Baja California and the Gulf of California to Sechura, Peru, ranging from shallow water to a depth of 64 m (210 ft). This species was first described in 1964 by the American ichthyologist Shelton Pleasants Applegate, who was an expert on fossil and living sharks, and by American marine biologist John Edgar Fitch.
Pristis is a genus of sawfish of the family Pristidae. These large fish are found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions in coastal marine waters, estuaries, and freshwater lakes and rivers. Sawfish have declined drastically and all species are considered critically endangered today.
Batomorphi is a clade of cartilaginous fishes, commonly known as rays, this taxon is also known as the superorder Batoidea, but the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies it as the division Batomorphi. They and their close relatives, the sharks, compose the subclass Elasmobranchii. Rays are the largest group of cartilaginous fishes, with well over 600 species in 26 families. Rays are distinguished by their flattened bodies, enlarged pectoral fins that are fused to the head, and gill slits that are placed on their ventral surfaces.
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. In the past it was included in the spotted eagle ray, a species restricted to the Atlantic after the split.
The common eagle ray or bullray is a species of fish in the family Myliobatidae. It inhabits the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the south-western Indian Ocean.
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.
The Maria Farinha Formation is a geological formation of the Parnaíba Basin in Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil whose strata date back to the Danian stage of the Paleocene, or Tiupampan in the SALMA classification.