Acroteriobatus salalah ( Randall & Compagno, 1995 )

Bogorodsky, Sergey V., Zajonz, Uwe, Saeed, Fouad N. & Weigmann, Simon, 2021, Notes on batoid fishes of the Socotra Archipelago (north-western Indian Ocean) with four new records, Zootaxa 4951 (3), pp. 511-528 : 513

Acroteriobatus salalah ( Randall & Compagno, 1995)

Salalah guitarfish

Fig. 2

ohẚnobaṫos salalah Randall & Compagno, 1995: 293 ; holotype: BPBM 36358 ; type locality: Salalah fish market, Oman, Ara- bian Sea.

Material examined: SMF uncatalogued, male, 66 cm TL, Socotra Island, fish market in Hadibo , 2 July 2020 .

Distinctive characters: Acroṫerẚobaṫus salalah is characterised by a short and obtusely angled (~88°) snout with slightly convex anterior disc margins; posterior tip of pectoral fins overlapping the anterior part of pelvic fins; disc relatively narrow and thin, heart-shaped, disc width 2.8–3.1 in TL; preorbital length 8.7–10.2 in TL; preoral length 7.2–7.5 in TL; anterior nasal flap distinctly extending into internasal space ( Randall & Compagno 1995; Bearez eṫ al. 2008; Psomadakis eṫ al. 2015; Séret eṫ al. 2016). Furthermore, the rostral ridges are well separated throughout their length, diverging slightly anteriorly and posteriorly, and each spiracle has two cutaneous folds on posterior edge, the inner one shortest (Psomadakis eṫ al. 2015).

Colouraṫẚon: Dorsal surface light tan with pattern of scattered dark-edged, bluish white spots of equal or slightly greater than pupil size; rostral cartilage not strongly contrasted with rest of snout; dorsal fins often with faint blotches. Ventral surface white, semi-translucent, snout sometimes with dark blotch ( Randall & Compagno 1995; Séret eṫ al. 2016).

Distribution: Reported from Oman, Gulf of Oman, and Pakistan (Randall 1995; Bearez eṫ al. 2008; Psomadakis eṫ al. 2015).

Remarks: The collected specimen is a mature male of 66 cm TL, taken by fishermen at Socotra Island, which matches well all characters of Acroṫerẚobaṫus salalah given by Séret eṫ al. (2016), including disc width 3.1 in TL and preorbital length 10.2 in TL. The specimen was obtained from Hadibo fish market without precise collection data on locality and habitat. Elsewhere, the species occurs in sandy areas of seaward reefs at depths of 10–100 m (Simpfendorfer eṫ al. 2017). The species is included as near threatened in the Red List Assessments of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and urgently requires conservation management (Simpfendorfer eṫ al. 2017). Two congeners are known from the Arabian region, AK omanensẚs Last, Henderson & Naylor, 2016 reported from off Oman and an undescribed species collected off Socotra (Last eṫ al. 2016a; Weigmann eṫ al., in press); both species differ from AK salalah by having a distinctly wedge-shaped disc and a narrowly pointed snout with nearly straight to slightly concave lateral edges.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Acroṫerẚobaṫus salalah, fresh colouration, SMF uncatalogued, male, 66 cm TL, fish market in Hadibo, Socotra Island. A: dorsal view; B: ventral view. Photos by F.N. Saeed.