"New Species" of eagle ray described

Recent taxonomic and molecular work on the eagle ray family has described a new species Aetobatus narutobiei, which was previously thought to be a conspecific of Aetobatus flagellum.


Aetobatus narutobiei can be distinguished from A. flagellum by a larger maximum size, maturation size, and birth size, along with greater numbers of certain fin rays, greater pelvin-fin bases, and differences in coloring around the eye.  Genetically A. narutobiei differs from A. flagellumin in its sequence of mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 genetic marker and in the structure of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) genetic marker.

These new findings are especially important when considering A. flagellum is listed as endangered on the IUCN's Red List. Now that A. narutobiei has been identified as a separate species, A. flagellum's range is much smaller than previously thought and likely more threatened than previously considered.

Read the Full Paper

White WT, Furumitsu K, Yamaguchi A (2013) A New Species of Eagle RayAetobatus narutobiei from the Northwest Pacific: An Example of the Critical Role Taxonomy Plays in Fisheries and Ecological Sciences. PLoS ONE 8(12): e83785. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083785