Family Gymnuridae

* Gymnura altavela (Linnaeus, 1758) —Uje-manta; Spiny butterfly ray

Lowe 1839: 92 | Lowe 1843: 94 (as Trygon altavela)

Günther 1870: 486 | Noronha & Sarmento 1934: 124 and 143 | Nobre 1935: 487 | Fowler 1936: 131 | Noronha & Sarmento 1948: 121 | Maul 1948: 140 | Albuquerque 1954 –56: 174 (as Pteroplatea altavela)

Krefft & Stehmann 1973b: 72 | McEachran & Capapé 1984: 204 | Sanches 1986: 116 | Lloris et al. 1991 | Wirtz et al. 2008: 5 | Ebert & Stehmann 2013: 401 | Carneiro et al. 2014: 16.

Distribution in Macaronesia. Madeira and Canary Islands (Brito et al. 2002; Brito Hernández & Sancho Rafel 2003).

Remarks. two formalin preserved specimens in MMF (MMF 14040, 22137) collections (dated from 1958 and 1966). A specimen was collected off Madeira’s north coast in 2005 and lived for seven years in the Aquarium of Porto Moniz ( Carolina Ornelas, pers. comm.). Commonly seen by divers in Madeira, including authors (CR and MF).