Mobulidae

Elasmobranch, Its Implications For Global, Parasitology, Diversity And, Naylor, G. J. P., Sc, Caira, J. N., Ct, Jensen, K., Ks, Rosana, K. A. M., Fl, White, W. T., Csiro, Tas, Last, P. R., Csiro & Tas, 2012, A Dna Sequence-Based Approach To The Identification Of Shark And Ray Species And Its Implications For Global Elasmobranch Diversity And Parasitology, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2012 (367), pp. 1-262 : 81-82

Mobulidae (devil rays)

Mobula japanica (spinetail devilray) ( fig. 61)

In total, 12 specimens of this species were included in the analysis. Given that 10 of these specimens were collected from the Gulf of California and two from Vietnam, they represent two disparate elements of the distribution of this widely distributed species. One of the specimens was deposited in the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection (GN5273 5 TCWC 7568.01 ). The analysis yielded a single cluster ; the range of pairwise differences among specimens in this cluster was 0–5, with an average of 2.3.

Manta birostris (manta) ( fig. 61)

The two specimens of this species included in the analysis were collected from Indonesia and the Philippines and thus represent only a very small portion of the distribution of this global species. The sequences of these specimens differed by seven bases. It is interesting that this species clustered among Mobula species ; most closely with Mo. japanica . The average of the pairwise differences among specimens of Ma. birostris and Mo. japanica was 125.8. The recent resurrection of Manta alfredi by Marshall et al. (2009) has caused doubt over the identifications of manta species in published literature and other records. The specimen from Indonesia can be accurately confirmed as M. birostris based on photographic evidence. There is a possibility that the specimen from the Philippines may represent M. alfredi ; acquisition of more specimens confirmed as M. alfredi in the future will be required to confirm this. The Philippine specimen is deposited in the Philippines (GN4356 5 BRU 043). At this stage we retain M. birostris as the designation for both specimens.

Mobula thurstoni (smoothtail devilray) ( fig. 61)

The analysis included eight specimens of this relatively widely distributed species, all collected from the Gulf of California and thus representing only a very small portion of its distribution. One of these specimens was deposited in the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection (GN5284 5 TCWC 7565.01). The range in pairwise differences among these specimens was 0–7, with an average of pairwise differences of 2.5.

Mobula kuhlii (shortfin devilray) ( fig. 61)

Three specimens, two from the Philippines and one from eastern Malaysian Borneo, were included in the analysis. The specimens from the Philippines (GN4337 5 BRU 031 and GN4327 5 JPAG 303) were treated by Compagno et al. (2005b) as representing a new record of M. kuhlii for that region. The range of pairwise differences among all three specimens was 0–1. The analysis yielded a single cluster that grouped most closely with the specimens of M. thurstoni . The average of the pairwise differences between specimens of these two species was 46.8.

Mobula munkiana (pygmy devilray) ( fig. 61)

Eight specimens of this species, all collected from the Gulf of California, were included in the analysis. These specimens represent the northern part of the eastern Pacific distribution of this species, which has been reported as far south as Ecuador. One of these specimens was deposited in the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection (GN2286 5 TCWC 7589.03). The range of pairwise differences among these specimens was 0–3, with an average of 0.8.

Mobula hypostoma (Atlantic devilray) ( fig. 61)

Both specimens of this species included in the analysis were collected from the Gulf of Mexico and thus represent one of the more northern parts of the distribution of this species, which occurs from New Jersey to Argentina. These specimens differed by four bases and they clustered most closely with M. munkiana , with an average of the pairwise differences among specimens between these two species of 31.4.