Aetobatus narutobiei, the Naru eagle ray, is a species of cartilaginous fish of the eagle ray family, Myliobatidae. It is found in the northwest Pacific off south Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.[1][2] It occurs from shallow, coastal flats to a depth of 59 m (194 ft), but always in water warmer than 15 °C (59 °F).[1]

Aetobatus narutobiei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Myliobatiformes
Family: Aetobatidae
Genus: Aetobatus
Species:
A. narutobiei
Binomial name
Aetobatus narutobiei
White, Yamaguchi, and Furumitsu, 2013

Until 2013, this species was included in the longheaded eagle ray (Aetobatus flagellum), but the two differ in genetics, morphology, size and range (the smaller longhead eagle ray is from the Indian Ocean).[1] The Naru eagle ray is up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in width and its upperparts are uniformly greenish grey to brownish.[1] Although little information exists for this species throughout most of its range, the life history and ecology has been reasonably well studied in Japanese waters. In the Ariake Bay region of Kyushu Island where it is numerous, it is considered a pest that preys on commercially valuable farmed bivalves and large numbers are culled every year.[1]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e White, W.T.; Furmitsu, K.; Yamaguchi, A. (2013). "A New Species of Eagle Ray Aetobatus narutobiei from the Northwest Pacific: An Example of the Critical Role Taxonomy Plays in Fisheries and Ecological Sciences". PLOS ONE. 8 (12): e83785. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...883785W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083785. PMC 3877081. PMID 24391827.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2006). "Aetobatus narutobiei" in FishBase. April 2006 version.