Myliobatis

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Myliobatis
Temporal range: 65–0  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Danian to present [1]
Myliobatis californica monterey bay aquarium.jpg
Myliobatis californica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
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.

Contents

Description

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]

Biology

Myliobatis species are ovoviviparous. Their gestation last about 6 months and a female produces four to seven embryos. Myliobatis species mainly feed on molluscs, bottom-living crustaceans, and small fishes. [4]

Habitat

Mylobatis species live in warm, shallow waters. Adults prefer sandy shores, while juveniles can usually be encountered offshore. [3] [4]

Species

Extant species

Currently, 11 species in this genus are recognized: [2] [5]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Myliobatis aquila.jpg Myliobatis aquila (Linnaeus, 1758)common eagle rayAtlantic Ocean (North Sea to South Africa), the Mediterranean Sea and the south-western Indian Ocean.
New zealand eagle ray at jackett island.jpg Myliobatis australis Macleay, 1981Australian bull rayEastern Indian Ocean: southern Australia, from Western Australia to Queensland. [6]
Myliobatis californica monterey bay aquarium.jpg Myliobatis californica T. N. Gill, 1865bat eagle rayeastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California.
Myliobatis chilensis.jpg Myliobatis chilensis Philippi {Krumweide}, 1893Chilean eagle raycoasts of Chile and Peru
Fish4341 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg Myliobatis freminvillei Lesueur, 1824bullnose eagle rayfrom Cape Cod down to Argentina
Myliobatis goodei, Southern eagle ray, topside.png Myliobatis goodei Garman, 1885southern eagle rayAtlantic coast, from the tip of Florida down to Argentina
Myliobatis hamlyni.jpg Myliobatis hamlyni J. D. Ogilby, 1911purple eagle ray [7] Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Okinawa
Myliobatis longirostris Applegate & Fitch, 1964snouted eagle rayPacific Ocean from Baja California and the Gulf of California to Sechura, Peru
Myliobatis peruvianus Garman, 1913Peruvian eagle rayPacific Ocean off Chile and Peru.
Myliobatis ridens Ruocco, Lucifora, Díaz de Astarloa, Mabragaña & Delpiani, 2012shortnose eagle ray [8] southwestern Atlantic Ocean off Brazil and Argentina.
New zealand eagle ray at jackett island.jpg Myliobatis tenuicaudatus Hector, 1877Australian/New Zealand eagle raynear rocky reefs around New Zealand and southern Australia
TobiEIesa.jpg Myliobatis tobijei Bleeker, 1854Japanese eagle ray [7] Indonesia and the Philippines,Japan, Korea, and China.

Extinct species

Fossil tooth or plate of M. dixoni from Khouribga (Morocco), 55-45 Mya Myliobatidae - Mylobatis dixoni.JPG
Fossil tooth or plate of M. dixoni from Khouribga (Morocco), 55-45 Mya

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]


See also

Related Research Articles

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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.

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

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".

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

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<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">Bonefishes</span> Family of fishes

Albulidae is a family of fish, commonly known as the bonefishes, that are popular as game fish in Florida, select locations in the South Pacific and the Bahamas and elsewhere. The family is small, with 11 species in 3 genera. Presently, the bonefishes are in their own order: Albuliformes. The families Halosauridae and Notacanthidae were previously classified in this order, but are now, according to FishBase, given their own order Notacanthiformes. The largest bonefish caught in the Western Hemisphere is a 16-pound, 3 ounce example caught off Islamorada, Florida, on March 19, 2007.

<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">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".

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.

<i>Odontaspis</i> Genus of sharks

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

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<i>Aetobatus ocellatus</i> Species of fish

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.

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

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.

<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">Japanese eagle ray</span> Species of cartilaginous fish

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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.

References

  1. Sepkoski, J. (2002). "A compendium of fossil marine animal genera (Chondrichthyes entry)". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 364: 560. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Myliobatis in FishBase . July 2017 version.
  3. 1 2 3 Discover life
  4. 1 2 World Register of Marine Species
  5. 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. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3860.2.3. PMID   25283197.
  6. "Myliobatis australis | Shark-References".
  7. 1 2 White, W.T.; Kawauchi, J.; Corrigan, S.; Rochel, E.; Naylor, G.J.P. (2015). "Redescription of the eagle rays Myliobatis hamlyni Ogilby, 1911 and M. tobijei Bleeker, 1854 (Myliobatiformes: Myliobatidae) from the East Indo-West Pacific". Zootaxa. 3948 (3): 521–548. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3948.3.7. PMID   25947786.
  8. Ruocco, N.L.; Lucifora, L.O.; de Astarloa, J.M.D.; Mabragaña, E.; Delpiani, S.M. (2012). "Morphology and DNA barcoding reveal a new species of eagle ray from the Southwestern Atlantic: Myliobatis ridens sp. nov. (Chondrichthyes, Myliobatiformes, Myliobatidae)" (PDF). Zoological Studies. 51 (6): 862–873.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. 1 2 3 Shark References

Further reading