Dasyatidae

Last, Peter R., Naylor, Gavin J. P. & Manjaji-Matsumoto, B. Mabel, 2016, A revised classification of the family Dasyatidae (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) based on new morphological and molecular insights, Zootaxa 4139 (3), pp. 345-368 : 353

Family Dasyatidae Jordan and Gilbert, 1879

Dasybatidae Jordan & Gilbert, 1879:386 (family), corrected to Dasyatidae by Jordan, 1888: 22) [van der Lann et al., 2014]; type genus Dasyatis (as “Dasybatis Rafinesque”).

Definition. Small to very large myliobatiform fishes (adults from 22 cm to 260 cm DW) and distinguished by the following combination of characters: body variably depressed with a well-formed oval, circular or rhombic disc that fully incorporates head; snout angular to obtuse and sometimes very elongate; nasal curtain well developed, skirt-shaped, rectangular or bilobed; five gill slits; oral papillae usually present on floor of mouth; tail moderately stout to slender-based and more or less elongated (sometimes very elongate and whip-like); dorsal surface variably covered with dermal denticles, thorns and/or tubercles, smooth to very spiny and often with a median thorn row and/or a median denticle band; no dorsal or caudal fins; 1–4 prominent caudal stings, positioned on tail well posterior to pelvic fins; skin folds variably developed on the ventral and sometimes dorsal midline of tail; dorsal surface plain to strongly patterned, usually darker than ventral surface.

Subfamilies. Dasyatinae Jordan and Gilbert, 1879, Hypolophinae Stromer, 1910, Neotrygoninae subfam. nov., and Urogymninae Gray, 1851.

Remarks. Four subfamilies are recognised that are consistent with the family groups identified by Lim et al. (2015). Although, as discussed already, their proposed names are not available (R. van der Laan, pers. comm.), we maintained use of one of their groups by erecting a new taxon at the rank of subfamily: Neotrygoninae. Hypolophinae was resurrected and the Urogymninae resurrected and elevated from the rank of tribe.