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Lesser devil ray

{{Short description|Species of cartilaginous fish}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Lesser devil ray

| image = The Plagiostomia (Plate 38) (6001273001).jpg

| status = EN

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Marshall, A. |author2=Barreto, R. |author3=Carlson, J. |author4=Fernando, D. |author5=Fordham, S. |author6=Francis, M.P. |author7=Herman, K. |author8=Jabado, R.W. |author9=Liu, K.M. |author10=Rigby, C.L. |author11=Romanov, E. |date=2019 |title=Mobula hypostoma |volume=2019 |page=e.T126710128A896599 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T126710128A896599.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}

| status2 = CITES_A2

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}

| taxon = Mobula hypostoma

| authority = (Bancroft, 1831)

| range_map = Mobula hypostoma répartition.png

| range_map_caption = Range of Mobula hypostoma, not including M. rochebrunei

| synonyms =

  • Cephalopterus hypostomus
  • Cephaloptera massenoidea{{cite web | last = Boonstra | first = Roxane | title = Atlantic devil ray | publisher = Florida Museum of Natural History | url = http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/AtlanticDevilRay/AtlanticDevilRay.html | access-date = 8 December 2011 }}
  • Cephaloptera olfersii
  • Ceratobatis robertsi
  • Ceratobatic robertsii
  • Mobula olfersii
  • Mobula reobertsi
  • Mobula rochebrunei?

}}

The lesser devil ray (Mobula hypostoma) is a species of devil ray in the family Mobulidae.

Habitat

These rays live in shallow, warm waters and can be found in shoals of up to 40 individuals, although more often ranging between 2 and 10.

They occur along the coasts of the western Atlantic, from North Carolina to northern Argentina.{{cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/mobula-hypostoma/|website=Florida Museum|title=Mobula hypostoma}} The related Mobula rochebrunei has occasionally been recovered as a junior synonym of M. hypostoma, extending the species' range to the eastern Atlantic.White, W.T., Corrigan, S., Yang, S., Henderson, A.C., Bazinet, A.L., Swofford, D.L. and Naylor, G.J.P. 2017. Phylogeny of the manta and devilrays (Chondrichthyes, mobulidae) with an updated taxonomic arrangement for the family. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182(1): 50-75. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx018.

Diet

They mostly feed on zooplankton such as small crustaceans, although they can occasionally eat schooling fish, using their cephalic horns to funnel prey into their mouth.

Description

Lesser devil rays are relatively small, with a maximum width of about {{convert|125|cm|abbr=on}}. They have forward-facing cephalic horns, while their long spineless tails distinguish them from their relatives M. mobular.{{cite web|url=https://www.mantatrust.org/mobula-hypostoma|title=West Atlantic Pygmy Devil Ray (Mobula hypostoma)|website=Manta Trust}}

Dorsal coloration varies from light brown to black, although some specimens have been reported as blue. Individuals sometimes possess a dark grey collar between their spiracles.

References

{{Reflist}}

  • {{ITIS |id=160997 |taxon=Mobula hypostoma |accessdate=18 April 2006}}
  • {{FishBase | genus = Mobula | species = hypostoma | month = February | year = 2006}}
  • {{cite book | author = C. R. Robins | author2 = G. C. Ray | name-list-style=amp | year = 1986 | title = A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America | url = https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoatla00robi | url-access = registration | location= Boston | publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company}}

External links

  • {{SealifePhotos|158530}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4548397}}

lesser devil ray

Category:Fish of the Western Atlantic

Category:Fish of the Dominican Republic

Category:Vulnerable fish

lesser devil ray