Mobula birostris ( Walbaum, 1792 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 100

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4947.1.1
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DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4687953
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scientific name	Mobula birostris ( Walbaum, 1792 )
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Mobula birostris ( Walbaum, 1792)

Giant Manta Ray

Raja birostris Walbaum, 1792: 535 . Types: No types known. Type locality: No locality stated in description.

Local synonymy: Manta ehrenbergi: Barnard, 1925: 87 ; Fowler, 1934b: 409, figs. 2–3; Barnard, 1959: 29, figs. 9–9a, pl. 4. Manta birostris: Smith, 1949a: 73 , fig. 88; Wallace, 1967c: 13, fig. 6; Compagno, 1986: 134, fig. 29.1, pl. 5; Compagno et al., 1989: 116, pl.; Compagno, 1999: 118; Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 88; Marshall et al., 2009: 4, figs. 1–7; Ebert & Dando, 2014: 99, fig.; Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 148; Weigmann, 2016: 981. Mobula birostris: White & Last, 2016c: 743 , fig. 33.2; Stevens et al., 2018: 74, figs.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 7885, SAIAB 48525, SAIAB 75575, SAIAB 75576, SAIAB 200672, SAIAB 200673, SAIAB 200674.

South African distribution: Table Bay (WC) to the KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Mobula birostris appears to occur in the more temperate waters of the WC compared to M. alfredi , which appears to be more restricted to the warmer waters of the KZN coast.

Conservation status: EN (2020).

References

Barnard, K. H. (1925) A monograph of the marine fishes of South Africa. Part I (Amphioxus, Cyclostomata, Elasmobranchii, and Teleostei-Isospondyli to Heterosomata). Annals of the South African Museum, 21, 1 - 418.

Barnard, K. H. (1959) A Pictorial Guide to South African Fishes. Marine and Freshwater. Maskew Miller Ltd, Cape Town, 226 pp.

Compagno, L. J. V. (1986) Families Pristidae, Narkidae, Rhinobatidae, Myliobatidae, Mobulidae, Dasyatidae, Chimaeridae, Rhinochimaeridae, Callorhinchidae. In: Smith, M. M. & Heemstra, P. C. (Eds.), Smith's Sea Fishes. Macmillan, Johannesburg, pp. 110 - 142, 144 - 147.

Compagno, L. J. V., Ebert, D. A. & Smale, M. J. (1989) Guide to the Sharks and Rays of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town, 158 pp.

Compagno, L. J. V. (1999) An overview of chondrichthyan systematics and biodiversity in southern Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, 54, 75 - 120. https: // doi. org / 10.1080 / 00359199909520406

Ebert, D. A. & Dando, M. (2014) On Board Guide for the Identification of Pelagic Sharks and Rays of the Western Indian Ocean. SmartFish Programme, FAO, Rome & Indian Ocean Commission, Port Louis, 109 pp.

Ebert, D. A. & van Hees, K. E. (2015) Beyond jaws: rediscovering the Lost Sharks of southern Africa. African Journal of Marine Science, 37, 141 - 156. https: // doi. org / 10.2989 / 1814232 X. 2015.1048730

Fowler, H. W. (1934 b) Fishes obtained by Mr. H. W. Bell-Marley chiefly in Natal and Zululand in 1929 to 1932. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 86, 405 - 514.

Heemstra, P. C. & Heemstra, E. (2004) Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa. National Inquiry Service Centre and South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Grahamstown, 488 pp.

Last, P. R., White, W. T. & Naylor, G. J. P. (2016 c) Sawfishes. Family Pristidae. In: Last, P. R., White, W. T., de Carvalho, M. E., Seret, B., Stehmann, M. F. W. & Naylor, G. J. P. (Eds.), Rays of the World. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, pp. 58 - 64. https: // doi. org / 10.1071 / 9780643109148

Marshall, A. D., Compagno, L. J. V. & Bennett, M. B. (2009) Redescription of the genus Manta with resurrection of Manta alfredi (Krefft, 1868) (Chondrichthyes; Myliobatoidei; Mobulidae). Zootaxa, 2301 (1), 1 - 28. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 2301.1.1

Smith, J. L. B. (1949 a) The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa. South Africa Central News Agency Ltd., 550 pp.

Stevens, G., Fernando, D., Dando, M. & Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. (2018) Guide to the Manta & Devil Rays of the World. Wild Nature Press, Plymouth, 144 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.1515 / 9780691207216

Walbaum, J. J. (1792) Petri Artedi sueci genera piscium. In quibus systema totum ichthyologiae proponitur cum classibus, ordinibus, generum characteribus, specierum differentiis, observationibus plurimis. Redactis speciebus 242 ad genera 52. Ichthyologiae pars III. Ant. Ferdin. Rose, Greifswald, 723 pp.

Wallace, J. H. (1967 c) The batoid fishes of the east coast of southern Africa. Part II: manta, eagle, duckbill, cownose, butterfly and sting rays. Investigational Report. Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, 16, 1 - 56.

Weigmann, S. (2016) Annotated checklist of the living sharks, batoids and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes) of the world, with a focus on biogeographical diversity. Journal of Fish Biology, 88, 837 - 1037. https: // doi. org / 10.1111 / jfb. 12874