Rhinobatos punctifer Compagno & Randall, 1987

Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Zajonz, Uwe, Saeed, Fouad N. & Weigmann, Simon, 2021, Notes on batoid fishes of the Socotra Archipelago (north-western Indian Ocean) with four new records, Zootaxa 4951 (3), pp. 511-528 : 514

Rhinobatos punctifer Compagno & Randall, 1987

Whitespotted guitarfish, Spotted guitarfish

Fig. 3

ohẚnobaṫos puncṫẚfer Compagno & Randall, 1987: 336; holotype: BPBM 20843 ; type locality: Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea .

Material examined: SMF uncatalogued, female, 64 cm TL, Socotra Island, fish market in Hadibo , 2 July 2020 .

Distinctive characters: ohẚnobaṫos puncṫẚfer is characterised by having a relatively narrow, wedge-shaped disc with slightly concave anterior margin, disc width 2.9–3.4 in TL; snout relatively short and bluntly pointed, preorbital length 7.3–7.6 in TL; the posterior tip of pectoral fins overlapping the anterior part of pelvic fins; anterior nasal flap slightly extending into internasal space ( Compagno & Randall 1987; Last eṫ al. 2019). Furthermore, the mouth is rather narrow, width 5.4–6.2% TL, the upper jaw tooth row count is low (~76), the vertebral count is relatively high (175–184 post-synarcual centra), the dorsal fins are relatively high (height of first 7.6–9.5% TL) and rather widely spaced (interdorsal distance 2.1–2.7 times first dorsal-fin base length), and the posterior two-thirds of both fins are almost devoid of dermal denticles ( Compagno & Randall 1987; Last eṫ al. 2019).

Colouraṫẚon: Dorsal surface of disc variable from usually with small scattered white spots to occasionally uniform brownish or yellowish brown. Ventral surface whitish, often yellowish around gill region.

Distribution: Known from the Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, Arabian Sea coast of Oman, Gulf of Oman, the Gulf and Pakistan (Randall 1995; Almojil eṫ al. 2015; Henderson eṫ al. 2015; Last eṫ al. 2019).

Remarks: Zajonz eṫ al. (2019) listed an unidentified species of ohẚnobaṫos Linck, which might be attributed to oK puncṫẚfer. The confirmed record is based on the collection of a mature female of 64 cm TL taken by fishermen off Socotra Island, which matches well all characters of oK puncṫẚfer given by Last eṫ al. (2019), including disc width 3.1 in TL and preorbital length 7.6 in TL. The specimen was obtained from Hadibo fish market without precise collection data on locality and habitat. Elsewhere, the species occurs in sandy areas of lagoons and seaward reefs at depths of 1–70 m ( Weigmann 2016). The species is included as near threatened in IUCN Red List Assessments and urgently requires conservation management (Ebert eṫ al. 2017). ohẚnobaṫos puncṫẚfer has regularly been confused with ohẚnobaṫos annandaleẚ Norman, 1926, also known from the Arabian Sea, until Last eṫ al. (2019) resolved this issue. Although oK annandaleẚ is a very similar species, it differs by having a broader disc, 2.3–2.6 in TL (versus 2.9–3.4 in TL in oK puncṫẚfer), broader mouth, 12.5–14 in TL (versus 16.1–18.5 in TL), an upper jaw with ~130 tooth rows (versus ~76 tooth rows), and dorsal fins covered with minute denticles (versus denticles confined to anterior portion of fin only).

Figures

FIGURE 3. ohẚnobaṫos puncṫẚfer, fresh colouration, SMF uncatalogued, female, 64 cm TL, fish market in Hadibo, Socotra Island. A: dorsal view; B: ventral view. Photos by F.N. Saeed.