Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008

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 : 92

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4947.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7F3B4794-65CF-4691-A330-78A423F2606F
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4697748
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039287A1-9532-FFD5-CFF7-59A4FDED26B3
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008
status

Treatment

Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008 View in CoL View at ENA

Leopard Whipray

Himantura leoparda Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008: 294 View in CoL , figs. 1–4. Holotype: CSIRO H 2903-01 View Materials . Type locality: Northwest of Weipa GoogleMaps , Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia, 12°08'S, 139°58'E,

Local synonymy: Trygon uarnak View in CoL : Bleeker, 1860b: 58 (in part); Gilchrist, 1902: 169 (in part). Dasybatus uarnak View in CoL : Regan, 1908a: 242 (in part); von Bonde & Swart, 1923: 16 (in part); Barnard, 1925: 76: Barnard, 1959: 27. Dasyatis uarnak View in CoL (non Gmelin, 1789): Thompson, 1914: 163 (in part); Gilchrist & Thompson, 1916: 287 (in part); Fowler, 1934b: 409 (in part); Fowler, 1935: 364 (in part); Fowler, 1941: 405 (in part); Smith, 1949a: 70, pl. 4 (in part); Smith, 1961a: 70, pl. 4 (in part); Smith, 1965: 70, pl. 4 (in part); Wallace, 1967c: 44, fig. 22 (figure is H. leoparda View in CoL ). Himantura uarnak View in CoL (non Gmelin, 1789): Compagno, 1986: 139, fig. 30.10 (in part); Compagno et al., 1989: 108, pl. (in part); Compagno, 1999: 117 (in part); da Silva et al., 2015: 246 (in part). Himantura leoparda: Manjaji-Matsumoto & Last, 2008: 294 View in CoL , figs. 1–4; da Silva et al., 2015: 246 (in part); Ebert & van Hees, 2015: 147; Last et al., 2016h: 361; Last et al., 2016i: 562, fig. 25.33; Weigmann, 2016: 972.

South Africa voucher material: SAIAB 11155 [ex ORI 581], SAIAB 11156 [ex ORI B582], SAIAB 16426, SAIAB 80368, SAIAB 201755.

South African distribution: East London (EC) to the KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Most publications and records of a large, reticulated patterned stingray species from KZN previously referred to Himatura uarnak are now known to be the relatively recently described H. leoparda , which is the most common large Himantura species in KZN. Its close relative H. uarnak does occur on occasion, but is far less common. South African specimens in museum collections should be re-examined to verify their identification. For expediency a list of specimens accessioned as both H. leoparda and H. uarnak are listed here.

Conservation status: VU (2016).