Report of zonetail butterfly ray, Gymnura zonura (Bleeker, 1852) and mangrove stingray Urogymnus granulatus (Macleay 1883) (Chondrichthyes: Myliobatiformes) from Andaman waters, India

• Published in: Thalassas : revista de ciencias del mar Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 367 - 375
• Main Authors: Kumar, Ravi Ranjan, Venu, S., Akhilesh, K. V., Bineesh, K. K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01-04-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Coastal Sciences; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Fish; Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Fisheries; Fisheries management; Fishery management; Fishing; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Granulation; Gymnura; Mangroves; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine biology; Marine fishes; Oceanography; Ports; Taxonomy; Urogymnus granulatus; India; Indian EEZ; New reports; Taxonomy; Batoids; Morphology; Diversity
• ISSN: 0212-5919; 2366-1674
• DOI: 10.1007/s41208-021-00302-7

This paper reports the occurrence of two stingray species from Andaman waters, India; the zonetail butterfly ray
Gymnura zonura
(Bleeker, 1852) (695 mm DW) which represents a new distributional range, and the mangrove stingray
Urogymnus granulatus
(Macleay 1883) (395 mm DW) which represents a rare occurrence. These occurrences suggest hidden stingray diversity in this region. Morphological descriptions of both species, as well as a molecular barcode of
G. zonura
, were generated in the present study to clarify the taxonomic information. The current report assists in improving the understanding of the local diversity and distribution of batoids in Andaman waters, which is crucial for developing fishery management strategies.