Genus Aetobatus Blainville, 1816

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Genus Aetobatus Blainville, 1816

Aetobatus Blainville, H.M.D. de 1816. Prodrome d'une nouvelle distribution systématique du règne animal. Bulletin des Sciences, par la Société Philomathique de Paris 8: 113-124 [start page on volume "105" is a typing error] [120] [as subgenus of Raia].
Type species:
Raja narinari Euphrasén, 1790 by subsequent designation, see Gill, T. 1894. The nomenclature of the Myliobatidae or Aëtobatidae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 17: 111–114 [112].

Introduction

There has been some confusion over the use of the name and type species. Blainville (1816) named the genus with several included species. Müller & Henle (1837, 1838) subsequently treated the genus as a synonym of Myliobatis, although incorrectly spelling the name Aetobatis Blainville. In the same works they named Aetobatis as a new genus. The genus Aetobatus has long been recognised as distinct from Myliobatis, with Raja narinari as the type species of Aetobatus. Müller & Henle (1838) provided the first definitive separation of the genera Myliobatis and Aetobatis of Müller & Henle, and included two species in Aetobatis. Whitley (1935) pointed out that Bory de Saint-Vincent (1822) had actually first designated Raja aquila Linnaeus, 1758 as the type species of Aetobatus Blainville. That species is currently included in the genus Myliobatis. Aetobatus of Blainville was often spelled Aetobatis, further confusing matters. In the interests of stability, we accept the subsequent designation of Gill (1894) in regarding Raja narinari as the type species to avoid changing a classification that has been stable for over 100 years, although that designation was vague. See also Gill (1804) and Kottelat (2013) for discussion of the problems and other subsequent designations. Gill (1894) unfortunately named the type species as Aetobatis, implying Blainville and not Müller & Henle. Kottelat (2013) has argued that Aetobatis of. Müller & Henle is a synonym of Aetobatus. Blainville.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications: MYLIOBATIDAE: Aetobatus narinari Euphrasén, 1790 — White, W.T., Last, P.R., Naylor, G.J.P., Jensen, K. & Caira, J.N. 2010. Clarification of Aetobatis ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae). pp. 141-164 in Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J. Descriptions of new sharks and rays from Borneo. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper 32: 1–165 [141] (restricted to Atlantic); Sales, J.B.L., Oliveira, C.N. de, Santos, W.C.R. dos, Rotundo, M.M., Ferreira, Y., Ready, J., Sampaio, I., Oliveira, C., Cruz, V.P., Mendoza, R.E.L. & Rodrigues-Filho, L.F. da S. 2019. Phylogeography of eagle rays of the genus Aetobatus: Aetobatus narinar is restricted to the continental western Atlantic Ocean. Hydrobiologia 836: 169-183 [Date published 5 Apr 2019]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal.

IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Christmas Island Province (23), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)