Zanobatus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Zanobatus
Drawing of Zanobatus schoenleinii from the first description

Drawing of Zanobatus schoenleinii from the first description

Systematics
Subclass : Euselachii
Subclass : Plate gill (Elasmobranchii)
without rank: Stingray (batoidea)
Order : Stingray (Myliobatiformes)
Family : Zanobatidae
Genre : Zanobatus
Scientific name of the  family
Zanobatidae
Fowler , 1928
Scientific name of the  genus
Zanobatus
Garman , 1913

Zanobatus is a genus of small rays found on the west coast of Africa.

features

The cartilaginous fish are a maximum of 60 cm long and have an approximately round to heart-shaped body disc. The body is densely covered with small placoid scales that give the skin a velvety appearance. Areas with thorns are on the rostrum, around the eyes, in the neck and in the shoulder area. The tail is slender, flattened and clearly set off from the body. On the tail there are two dorsal fins of equal size, which are rounded at the top and which have a convex rear edge. The caudal fin is long and rounded; the lower lobe is clearly formed.

Zanobatus species are brownish or greenish on the dorsal side and show a pattern of dark brown horizontal stripes or spots, sometimes also a few smaller white or black spots. The ventral side is light, the lower edges of the pectoral and ventral fins can be dark. The area around the nostrils and gills may be darker.

Way of life

Zanobatus species live close to the coast on the continental shelf to a depth of about 100 meters. They feed on small, bottom-dwelling invertebrates, including worms, crustaceans, and mollusks. The animals reproduced ovoviviparously . One to four young rays are born per birth. Usually five months elapse between births. In the females only the right oviduct is developed.

Systematics

The first species now assigned to the genus Zanobatus was first scientifically described in 1841 by the German naturalists Johannes Müller and Jakob Henle under the name Platyrhina schoenleinii . In 1913, the American ichthyologist Samuel Garman introduced the genus Zanobatus for the species , which has remained monotypical for over 100 years . In 2016, a second species was described with Zanobatus maculatus . Zanobatus is the only genus of the Zanobatidae family that was established in 1928 by the American zoologist Henry Weed Fowler . The systematic position of the Zanobatidae is still not finally clarified. Today they are mostly assigned to the stingray-like (Myliobatiformes) and are there as a basal branch of the order. In the phylogenetic analysis of the cartilage fish systematics by Gavin JP Naylor and co-workers, on the other hand, the Zanobatidae form a branch in the order of the violin and saw rays ( Rhinopristiformes ) and at Fishbase they form together with the genus Platyrhinoidis the subfamily Platyrhininae within the family Rhinobatidae .

species

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Last, PR, White, WT, Carvalho, MR, Séret, B., Stehmann, M. & Naylor, GJP Rays of the World. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne. ISBN 9780643109131 . Page 134.
  2. ↑ Zanobatus schoenleinii in the Catalog of Fishes (English)
  3. ↑ Zanobatus in the Catalog of Fishes (English)
  4. ↑ Bernard Séret. 2016. Zanobatus maculatus , A New Species of Panray from the Gulf of Guinea, eastern central Atlantic (Elasmobranchii: Batoidea: Zanobatidae). Zootaxa . 4161 (4); 509-522. DOI: 10.11646 / zootaxa.4161.4.2
  5. ↑ Neil C. Aschliman, Mutsumi Nishida, Masaki Miya, Jun G. Inoue, Kerri M. Rosana, Gavin JP Naylord: Body plan convergence in the evolution of skates and rays (Chondrichthyes: Batoidea). In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. Volume 63, No. 1, April 2012, pp. 28-42. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2011.12.012 .
  6. ^ Joseph S. Nelson, Terry C. Grande, Mark VH Wilson: Fishes of the World. Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey, 2016, ISBN 978-1118342336
  7. ↑ Gavin JP Naylor, Janine N. Caira, Kirsten Jensen, Kerri AM Rosana, Nicolas Straube & Clemens Lakner: Elasmobranch Phylogeny: A Mitochondrial Estimate Based on 595 Species . in Jeffrey C. Carrier, John A. Musick, Michael R. Heithaus: Biology of Sharks and Their Relatives (Marine Biology). Publisher: Crc Pr Inc, 2012, ISBN 1-43983-924-7
  8. ↑ Zanobatus schoenleinii on Fishbase.org (English)