Myliobatis freminvillei Lesueur, 1824

Jones, Christian M., Driggers Iii, William B., Hannan, Kristin M., Hoffmayer, Eric R., Jones, Lisa M. & Raredon, Sandra J., 2020, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea, Zootaxa 4803 (2), pp. 281-315 : 300

Myliobatis freminvillei Lesueur, 1824 —bullnose ray, bullnose eagle ray

Synonyms:

Aetobatus freminvillii ( Lesueur, 1824)

Holorhinus freminvillei ( Lesueur, 1824)

Myliobatis acuta Ayers, 1842

Myliobatis bispinosus Storer, 1842

Distribution. This species is distributed throughout the northern GOM, from the Texas/ Mexico border to southern Florida, in coastal and estuarine waters. Deepwater ROV work conducted by the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research in 2012 captured video of a single individual resting on the bottom at a depth of 345 m, indicating at least limited use of deepwater habitats as well (C. Jones unpublished data).

First Record in GOM. The first report of this species in the northern GOM is possibly that of Evermann and Kendall (1894), as Aetobatis freminvillei , from Galveston, Texas. However, their report was based upon examination of a single dismembered tail, with uncertainty as to the identity of the original possessor. The first verified report of Myliobatis freminvillei occurring in the northern GOM came from Springer and Bullis (1956), who report capturing a single individual south of Horn Island off Mississippi in 1954.

Remarks. There is some uncertainty as to the specific identity of the original possessor of the jaws and tail which were the basis of Storer’s (1842a) description of Myliobatis bispinosus , particularly since these parts (Holotype, MCZ 89509) appear to be missing (Fricke et al. 2018). However, Storer (1842b) further expounded on the specimen and given the combination of details presented in both descriptions (i. e. tooth morphology and arrangement, placement of dorsal fin) we conclude, in agreement with Bigelow and Schroeder (1953), that the species Storer (1842a) described is Myliobatis freminvillei .

Conservation Status. Data Deficient (as Myliobatis fremenvilii )