Myliobatiformes

Pacific cownose rays Rhinoptera steindachneri, copyright Steve Ryan.

Belongs within: Chondrichthyes.
Contains: Myliobatidae, Urolophus, Himantura, Dasyatis.

The Myliobatiformes are a group of rays with large pectoral fins combining with the head to form a broad disc, a slender tail often bearing strong stinging spines, and caudal and dorsal fins reduced or absent (Bond 1996). The find disc is rhomboidal in shape in the more pelagic Mobulidae and Myliobatoidea but rounder in the more benthic Dasyatoidea.

Myliobatiformes
    |  i. s.: Urobatis [Urotrygonidae] LC99a
    |           `--U. halleri Y56
    |         Hexatrygon HMM12 [Hexatrygonidae B96]
    |           `--H. bickelli Heemstra & Smith 1980 (see below for synonymy) CL99b
    |         Plesiobatis [Plesiobatidae] CL99a
    |           `--P. daviesi (Wallace 1967) (see below for synonymy) CL99a
    |         Hypanus guttatus VF21
    |--Mobulidae [Mobuloidea] CDZ93
    |    |--Archaeomanta priemi Herman 1979 CDZ93
    |    |--Burnhamia CDZ93
    |    |--Manta M02c
    |    |    |--M. alfredi G75
    |    |    |--M. birostris (Walbaum 1792) M02c [=Raja birostris M58; incl. M. banksiana Whitley 1936 M58]
    |    |    `--M. hamiltoni MH96
    |    `--Mobula CL99e
    |         |--M. alfredi VF21
    |         |--M. birostris VF21
    |         |--M. eregoodoo (Cantor 1849) CL99e
    |         |--M. eregoodootenkee (Bleeker 1852) CL99e
    |         |--M. japanica (Müler & Henle 1841) CL99e
    |         |--M. kuhlii (Valenciennes in Müller & Henle 1841) CL99e
    |         |--M. mobular (Bonnaterre 1788) [incl. M. diabolus (Shaw 1804)] CL99e
    |         |--M. tarapacana (Philippi 1892) CL99e
    |         `--M. thurstoni (Lloyd 1908) CL99e
    |--Myliobatoidea CDZ93
    |    |--Myliobatidae M58
    |    |--Rhombodontidae CDZ93
    |    |    |--Pucabatis Cappetta 1975 GM01
    |    |    |    `--P. hoffstetteri Cappetta 1975 GM01
    |    |    `--Rhombodus CDZ93
    |    |         |--R. binkhorsti Dames 1881 CDZ93
    |    |         |--R. bondoni Arambourg 1952 CDZ93
    |    |         |--R. levis Cappetta & Case 1975 CDZ93
    |    |         |--R. meridionalis Arambourg 1952 CDZ93
    |    |         `--R. microdon Arambourg 1952 CDZ93
    |    `--Rhinoptera [Rhinopteridae] CDZ93
    |         |--R. adspersa Valenciennes in Müller & Henle 1841 CL99d
    |         |--R. bonasus (Mitchill 1815) M02b
    |         |--R. brasiliensis VF21
    |         |--R. javanica Müller & Henle 1841 CL99d
    |         |--R. marginata CW01
    |         |--R. neglecta Ogilby 1912 CL99d
    |         |--R. prisca Woodward 1907 CDZ93
    |         |--R. raeburni White 1934 CDZ93
    |         |--R. sewelli NM72
    |         `--R. steindachneri CW01
    `--Dasyatoidea CDZ93
         |--Urolophidae CDZ93
         |    |--Trygonoptera testacea Banks in Müller & Henle 1841 LC99a
         |    `--Urolophus M58
         |--Dasyatidae M58
         |    |--Urogymnus asperrimus (Bloch & Schneider 1801) [incl. U. africanus (Bloch & Schneider 1801)] LC99b
         |    |--Myledaphus G88
         |    |--Himantura M58
         |    |--Dasyatis M02a
         |    |--Pastinachus sephen (Forsskål 1775) [incl. Dasyatis gruveli Chabanaud 1923] LC99b
         |    |--Taeniura M58
         |    |    |--T. lymma (Forskål 1775) (see below for synonymy) M58
         |    |    `--T. meyeni Müller & Henle 1841 [incl. T. melanospilos Bleeker 1853] LC99b
         |    `--Amphotistius kuhlii (Müller & Henle 1841) [=Trygon kuhlii, Dasyatis kuhlii] M58
         |--Gymnuridae CDZ93
         |    |--Aetoplatea zonura Bleeker 1852 CL99c
         |    `--Gymnura H72
         |         |--G. altavela VF21
         |         |--G. australis (Ramsay & Ogilby 1885) CL99c
         |         |--G. japonica (Schlegal 1850) CL99c
         |         |--G. javanica H72
         |         |--G. laterialata Werner 1989 CDZ93
         |         |--G. micrura (Bloch & Schneider 1801) CL99c
         |         |--G. natalensis H72
         |         `--G. poecilura (Shaw 1804) CL99c
         `--Potamotrygonidae CDZ93
              |--Elipesurus spinicauda B81
              |--Dynatobatis Larrazet 1886 CDZ93
              `--Potamotrygon B96
                   |  i. s.: P. africana Arambourg 1947 CDZ93
                   |--+--P. reticulatus B81
                   |  `--+--P. falkneri B81
                   |     `--P. hystrix B81
                   `--+--P. motoro B81
                      `--+--P. circularis B81
                         `--+--P. magdalenae B81
                            `--P. yepezi B81

Hexatrygon bickelli Heemstra & Smith 1980 [incl. Hexatrygon brevirostra Shen 1986, Hexatrematobatis longirostrum Chu & Meng in Chu, Meng et al. 1981, Hexatrygon taiwanensis Shen 1986, Hexatrygon yangi Shen & Liu 1984] CL99b

Plesiobatis daviesi (Wallace 1967) [=Urotrygon daviesi; incl. U. marmoratus Chu, Hu & Li in Chu, Meng et al. 1981] CL99a

Taeniura lymma (Forskål 1775) [=Raja lymma; incl. Trygon halgani Lesson 1830, Taeniura lymma halgani, Discobatis marginipinnis Miklouho-Maclay & Macleay 1886] M58

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B96] Bond, C. E. 1996. Biology of Fishes 2^nd ed. Saunders College Publishing: Fort Worth.

[B81] Brooks, D. R. 1981. Hennig’s parasitological method: a proposed solution. Systematic Zoology 30 (3): 229–249.

[CDZ93] Cappetta, H., C. Duffin & J. Zidek. 1993. Chondrichthyes. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 593–609. Chapman & Hall: London.

[CW01] Chisholm, L. E., & I. D. Whittington. 2001. Euzetia occultum n. g., n. sp. (Euzetiinae n. subf.), a monocotylid monogenean from the gills of Rhinoptera neglecta (Rhinopteridae) from Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Systematic Parasitology 48: 179–183.

[CL99a] Compagno, L. J. V., & P. R. Last. 1999a. Plesiobatidae. Giant stingaree. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1467–1468. FAO: Rome.

[CL99b] Compagno, L. J. V., & P. R. Last. 1999b. Hexatrygonidae. Sixgill stingray. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1477–1478. FAO: Rome.

[CL99c] Compagno, L. J. V., & P. R. Last. 1999c. Gymnuridae. Butterfly rays. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1506–1510. FAO: Rome.

[CL99d] Compagno, L. J. V., & P. R. Last. 1999d. Rhinopteridae. Cownose rays. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1520–1523. FAO: Rome.

[CL99e] Compagno, L. J. V., & P. R. Last. 1999e. Mobulidae. Devil rays. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1524–1529. FAO: Rome.

[GM01] Gayet, M., L. G. Marshall, T. Sempere, F. J. Meunier, H. Cappetta & J-C. Rage. 2001. Middle Maastrichtian vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, dinosaurs and other reptiles, mammals) from Pajcha Pata (Bolivia). Biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic and palaeobiostratigraphic implications. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 169: 39–68.

[G75] Grant, E. M. 1975. Guide to Fishes. The Co-ordinator-General’s Department: Brisbane (Australia).

[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.

[H72] Hulley, P. A. 1972. The origin, interrelationship and distribution of southern African Rajidae (Chondrichthyes, Batoidei). Annals of the South African Museum 60 (1): 1–103.

[HMM12] Human, B. A., S. M. Morrison & I. D. MacLeod. 2012. Is the megamouth shark susceptible to mega-distortion? Investigating the effects of twenty-two years of fixation and preservation on a large specimen of Megachasma pelagios (Chondrichthyes: Megachasmidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 27 (1): 7–20.

[LC99a] Last, P. R., & L. J. V. Compagno. 1999a. Urolophidae. Stingarees. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1469–1476. FAO: Rome.

[LC99b] Last, P. R., & L. J. V. Compagno. 1999b. Dasyatidae. Stingrays. In: Carpenter, K. E., & V. H. Niem (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific vol. 3. Batoid fishes, chimaeras and bony fishes part 1 (Elopidae to Linophrynidae) pp. 1479–1505. FAO: Rome.

[M02a] McEachran, J. D. 2002a. Whip-tail stingrays. Family Dasyatidae. In: Collette, B. B., & G. Klein-MacPhee (eds) Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine 3^rd ed. pp. 75–78. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington.

[M02b] McEachran, J. D. 2002b. Cownose rays. Family Rhinopteridae. In: Collette, B. B., & G. Klein-MacPhee (eds) Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine 3^rd ed. pp. 78–80. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington.

[M02c] McEachran, J. D. 2002c. Mantas and devil rays. Family Mobulidae. In: Collette, B. B., & G. Klein-MacPhee (eds) Bigelow and Schroeder’s Fishes of the Gulf of Maine 3^rd ed. pp. 80–81. Smithsonian Institute Press: Washington.

[MH96] Miller, S. A., & J. P. Harley. 1996. Zoology 3^rd ed. Wm. C. Brown Publishers: Dubuque (Iowa).

[M58] Munro, I. S. R. 1958. The fishes of the New Guinea region: a check-list of the fishes of New Guinea incorporating records of species collected by the Fisheries Survey Vessel “Fairwind” during the years 1948 to 1950. Papua and New Guinea Agricultural Journal 10 (4): 97–369 (reprinted 1958. Territory of Papua and New Guinea Fisheries Bulletin no. 1).

[NM72] Nair, R. V., & S. L. Mohan. 1972. The deep sea spined dog fish Centrophorus armatus (Gilchrist) (Selachii: Sualidae) from the east coast of India, with a note on its taxonomy. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69 (1): 193–199.

[VF21] Vullo, R., E. Frey, C. Ifrim, M. A. González González, E. S. Stinnesbeck & W. Stinnesbeck. 2021. Manta-like planktivorous sharks in Late Cretaceous oceans. Science 371: 1253–1256.

[Y56] Young, R. T. 1956. A review of the cestode genus Echeneibothrium. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences 46 (8): 256–265.

Last updated: 20 March 2022.