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.
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)
General References
Bory de Saint-Vincent, J.B.G.M. 1822. Dictionnarie Classique d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris : Rey et Gravier Vol. 1 604 pp. [articles on fishes] [129]
Gill, T. 1894. The nomenclature of the Myliobatidae or Aëtobatidae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 17: 111–114
Kottelat, M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663
Müller, J. & Henle, F.G.J. 1838. Ueber die Gattungen der Plagiostomen. Archiv für Naturgeschichte 4(1): 83-85
White, W.T. & Last, P.R. 2016. Families Myliobatidae, Aetobatidae. pp. 706-731 in Last, P.R., White, W.T., Carvalho, M.R. de, Séret, B., Stehmann, M.F.W. & Naylor, G.J.P. (eds.). Rays of the World. Clayton South, Victoria : CSIRO Publishing 790 pp.
White, W.T. & Naylor, G.J.P. 2016. Resurrection of the family Aetobatidae (Myliobatiformes) for the pelagic eagle rays, genus Aetobatus. Zootaxa 4139(3): 435–438
Whitley, G.P. 1935. Ichthyological genotypes. The Australian Zoologist 8(2): 136-139 [137]
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05-Jun-2024 | ELASMOBRANCHII | 05-Jun-2024 | MODIFIED | |
| 05-Jun-2024 | MYLIOBATIFORMES | 12-Apr-2024 | MODIFIED | Dr Doug Hoese Dr Matthew Lockett |
| 16-Apr-2012 | 05-Jun-2024 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |