Aetomylaeus vespertilio

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Family : Eagle and manta rays; Found in muddy bays and banks and on coral reefs from close inshore to 110 m depth[1]. Ovoviviparous[2]. Probably caught in bottom trawls, gillnets , seines, and fish traps[1]. Presumably utilized as food in the western central Pacific[1].

Endangered

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Family Myliobatidae

Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Head elevated above disc; jaws powerful with large platelike crushing teeth in several rows in eagle rays ; eye and spiracles lateral on head; gill openings about length of eye to much longer ; tail much longer than disc; venemous spine(s) present in some; small dorsal fin; pectoral fins reduced or absent opposite the eyes, but with an anterior subdivision that unites below the tip of the snout forming a subrostral lobe in manta rays. Some known for their leaping ability high into the air . Viviparous with 2-6 fully developed young. Plankton-filtering manta rays are among the largest fishes , but harmless.The family Myliobatidae belongs to the Class Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) and the Order Rajiformes. It contains 7 genera and 42 species. It may be found in Marine and Brackish environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are bearers. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is rajiform. Members of this family have been dated back to the Cretaceous period. Etymology of this family name : Greek, myleys, -eos = mill , millstone + Greek, batis , -idos = ray

Habitat

Biome: Saltwater . Benthopelagic.

Ecology: Little known species. Occurs on the inner continental shelf to depths of 110 m over soft sandy substrate (Compagno and Last 1999). Reproductive biology , age and growth and dietary compositions are unknown for this species. Suspected low fecundity as with other myliobatids, for example Aetobatus narinari and Aetomylaeus nichofii, which bear litters of up to four offspring (Last and Stevens 1994, Compagno and Last 1999).

Life history parameters
Age at maturity (years): Unknown.
Size at maturity (total length cm): Unknown.
Longevity (years): Unknown.
Maximum size (total length/disc width ): 240 cm DW (W. White, unpubl. data ) 160 cm DW, 385 cm TL (Compagno and Last 1999).
Size at birth (cm): Unknown.
Average reproductive age (years): Unknown.
Gestation time (months): Unknown.
Reproductive periodicity: Unknown.
Average annual fecundity or litter size: Up to 4 (based on similar species).
Annual rate of population increase: Unknown.
Natural mortality: Unknown.[3]


List of Habitats :9.1Marine Neritic - Pelagic 9.9Marine Neritic - Seagrass (Submerged) 9.10Marine Neritic - Estuaries 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m)

Taxonomy

Ambiguous Synonyms

1. Aetobatus reticulatus Teng, 1962
2. Aetomylaeus reticulatus (Teng, 1962)
3. Myliobatis milvus /i> (Non M�ller & Henle, 1841)

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Aetomylus vespertilio (Bleeker, 1852)
2. Myliobatis vespertilio Bleeker, 1852

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : McEachran J., Data last modified by FishBase 19-Oct-2000

Similar Species

Members of the genus Aetomylaeus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species and subspecies in this genus:

Pteromylaeus bovinus · A. maculatus (Ocellate Eagle Ray) · A. milvus (Brown Eagle-Ray) · A. nichofii (Nieuhof´s Eagle Ray) · A. vespertilio · A. vespertilio (Reticulate Eagle Ray)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• Anderson, R.C., J.E. Randall and R.H. Kuiter (1998). New records of fishes from the Maldive Islands, with notes on other species. Ichthyol. Bull. J.L.B. Smith Inst. Ichthyol. 67(2):20-36.
• Anonymous. 2004. Report on the implementation of the UN FAO International Plan of Action for Sharks (IPOA–Sharks). AC20 Inf. 5. Twentieth meeting of the CITES Animals Committee, Johannesburg (South Africa), 29 March–2 April 2004.
• Bulletin - United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.];1877-1971. ENG url p. 465.
• Compagno, L.J.V. (1997). Myliobatidae. Eagle rays. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Western Central Pacific.
• Compagno, L.J.V. and Last, P.R. 1999. Myliobatidae. Eagle rays. In: K.E. Carpenter and V.H. Niem (eds) FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. Volume 3. Batoid Fishes, Chimaeras and Bony Fishes Part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae). pp. 1511-1519. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.
• Eschmeyer, William N., ed. 1998. Catalog of Fishes. Special Publication of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Information, no. 1, vol 1-3. California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco, California, USA. 2905. ISBN: 0-940228-47-5.
• Hanfee, F. 1999. Management of shark fisheries in two Indian coastal states: Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In: R. Shotton (ed.) Case studies of the management of elasmobranch fisheries. FAO technical paper 378/1, FAO Rome.
• Heemstra, P.C. (1995). Additions and corrections for the 1995 impression. p. v - xv. In M.M. Smith and P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Revised Edition of Smiths' Sea Fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
• Last, P.R. and J.D. Stevens (1994). Sharks and rays of Australia. CSIRO, Australia. 513 p.
• Last, P.R. and Stevens, J.D. 1994. Sharks and Rays of Australia. CSIRO, Australia.
• Mould, B. (1994). A world list of rays. The scientific nomenclature and distribution of the recent Batoidea (Batoidea, Elasmobranchii, Chondrichthyes) University of Nottingham, [UK]. 82 p.
• Nguyen Huu Phung and Tran Hoai Lan (1994). Checklist of marine fishes in Viet Nam. Vol. 1. Amphioxi and Chondrichthyes. Science and Technics Publishing House, Viet Nam.
• Shark Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website.

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
• FishBase
• FishBase 2006.
• Froese, R., and D. Pauly. FishBase 2004. International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed November 15, 2007. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
• McEachran, John (from FishBase).
• White, W.T. 2006. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2486477
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-28562
• Fishbase Species ID: 12599
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 564397
• IUCN ID: 60121
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 101431

Footnotes

1. Compagno, L.J.V. (1997). Myliobatidae. Eagle rays. In K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) FAO Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. The Western Central Pacific. [back]
2. Dulvy, N.K. and J.D. Reynolds (1997). Evolutionary transitions among egg-laying, live-bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B 264:1309-1315. [back]
3. White, W.T. 2006. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 19, 2008. [back]

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