Gymnura lessae Yokota and de Carvalho, 2017

Jones, Christian M., Driggers Iii, William B., Hannan, Kristin M., Hoffmayer, Eric R., Jones, Lisa M. & Raredon, Sandra J., 2020, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea, Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 281-315 : 297

Gymnura lessae Yokota and de Carvalho, 2017

Synonyms: None

Distribution. Throughout the northern GOM, from southern Florida to the Texas/ Mexico border, in depths ranging from 9 to 64 m.

First Record in GOM. This species was first recorded from the northern GOM, as Pteroplatea maclura Lesueur, 1817 , by Günther (1870) based on specimens procured from Texas at an unknown date.

Remarks. Yokota and de Carvalho (2017) recently revised the Gymnura micrura (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) species complex, identifying two additional species. Gymnura micrura is now restricted to the western Atlantic Ocean off of South America, while G. lessae inhabits the western North Atlantic waters off the United States, including the northern GOM.

Conservation Status. Data Deficient (when assessed together with Gymnura micrura )