Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5748 No. 4: 15 Jan. 2026
Type: Correspondence
Published: 2026-01-15
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5748.4.9
Page range: 597-600
Abstract views: 16
PDF downloaded: 0

First description of a bentfin devil ray embryo Mobula thurstoni (Lloyd, 1908) from Los Hermanos Archipelago, Venezuela (Southern Caribbean)

Escuela de Ciencias Aplicadas al Mar; Universidad de Oriente (UDO); Nueva Esparta; Venezuela; Laboratório de Pesquisa de Chondrichthyes; Instituto de Ciências Biológicas; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG); Rio Grande; RS; Brasil
Escuela de Ciencias Aplicadas al Mar; Universidad de Oriente (UDO); Nueva Esparta; Venezuela
Pisces Mobula thurstoni

References

  1. Bucair, N., Hinojosa-Alvarez, S., Marshall, A.D., Pate, J., Francini, C.L.B., Garrido, A.G., Capel, K.C.C., Loboda, T.S., Monteiro, J.S., Bruno, C.E.M., Vaga, C.F., Dove, A.D.M., Hoopes, L.A., Perry, C. & Kitahara, M.V. (2025) An integrative taxonomy investigation unravels a cryptic species of Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 (Mobulidae, Myliobatiformes), from the Atlantic Ocean. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 108, 1801–1835. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-025-01727-2
  2. Cabanillas-Torpoco, M., Forsberg, K., Siccha-Ramírez, R., Cisneros, P., Luque, C., Purizaca, W., Asmat, R., Ampuero, C., Rubin, R. & Vera, M. (2019) First description of a giant manta ray fetus Mobula birostris (Walbaum 1792) from Tumbes, Peru (Southeast Pacific). Zootaxa, 4603 (2), 397–400. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4603.2.12
  3. Cervigón, F. (2011) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Vol. 6. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Boca del Río, 115 pp.
  4. Cervigón, F. & Alcalá, A. (1999) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Vol. 5. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Boca del Río, 230 pp.
  5. Ehemann, N., Acosta-Rodríguez, E., Tagliafico, A., Pelletier, N. & Stevens, G. (2022) Manta and devil ray species occurrence and distribution in Venezuela, assessed through fishery landings and citizen science data. Journal of Fish Biology, 101 (1), 213–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15088
  6. Ehemann, N., González‐González, L.D.V., Tagliafico, A. & Weigmann, S. (2019) Updated taxonomic list and conservation status of chondrichthyans from the exclusive economic zone of Venezuela, with first generic and specific records. Journal of Fish Biology, 95 (3), 753–771. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14061
  7. Ehemann, N.R., González‐González, L.V. & Trites, A.W. (2017) Lesser devil rays Mobula cf. Hypostoma from Venezuela are almost twice their previously reported maximum size and may be a new sub‐species. Journal of Fish Biology, 90 (3), 1142–1148. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13252
  8. Ginés, H. (1972) Carta pesquera de Venezuela. 1. Areas del Nororiente y Guana. Vol. 16. Fundacion La Salle de ciencias naturales, Caracas, 328 pp.
  9. IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group (2025) Los Hermanos Archipelago ISRA Factsheet. IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group.
  10. Marshall, A.D., Pierce, S.J. & Bennett, M.B. (2008) Morphological measurements of manta rays (Manta birostris) with a description of a foetus from the east coast of Southern Africa. Zootaxa, 1717 (1), 24–30. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1717.1.2
  11. Palacios, M.D., Trejo-Ramírez, A., Velázquez-Hernández, S., Huesca-Mayorga, S.A.K., Stewart, J.D., Cronin, M.R., Lezama-Ochoa, N., Zilliacus, K.M., González‑Armas, R., Galván‑Magaña, F. & Croll, D.A. (2024) Reproductive behavior, seasonality, and distribution of three devil ray species (Mobula mobular, M. thurstoni and M. munkiana) in the Southern Gulf of California, Mexico. Marine Biology, 171, 12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-023-04314-0

How to Cite

Zambrano-Vizquel, L.A. & Marcano, M.T. (2026) First description of a bentfin devil ray embryo Mobula thurstoni (Lloyd, 1908) from Los Hermanos Archipelago, Venezuela (Southern Caribbean). Zootaxa, 5748 (4), 597–600. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5748.4.9