Aetomylaeus vespertilio ( Bleeker, 1852 )

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M., 2021, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of South Africa, Zootaxa 4947 (1), pp. 1-127 : 98

Aetomylaeus vespertilio ( Bleeker, 1852)

Ornate Eagle Ray

Myliobatis vespertilio Bleeker, 1852: 85 . Holotype: RMNH 7460 , Jakarta, Java, Indonesia.

Local synonymy:? Aetomylus huletti : Smith, 1953: 513, fig. 77a (original description).

South Africa voucher material: No known specimens in museum collections, but confirmation based on a photograph from Richards Bay (Rob Kyle, pers. comm., Oceanographic Research Institute). The holotype of A. huletti (? = A. vespertilio ) was collected in Zululand (northern KZN), but the type specimen is lost.

South African distribution: New record, from Richards Bay and possibly northern KZN.

Remarks: Smith (1953) described Aetomylus huletti based on a specimen from northern KZN (Zululand). However, subsequent authors ( Wallace, 1967c; Compagno, 1986) attributed it as a possible synonym of Pteromylaeus (now Aetomylaeus ) bovinus . Ebert & van Hees (2015) listed it as possibly being A. nichofii , but that species does not occur in the region. The holotype of A. huletti is unfortunately lost precluding further examination of the specimen, but it is likely to be A. vespertilio rather than A. nichofii ; a species known to occur in Mozambique ( White & Last, 2016a). Recently, a specimen of A. vespertilio was caught, and released at Richards Bay confirming this species’ presence for the first time in South African waters (R. Kyle, Oceanographic Research Institute, April 2018, photograph and pers. comm.).

Conservation status: EN (2016).