Rhinoptera javanica Müller & Henle, 1841

Ray, Dipanjan & Mohapatra, Anil, 2020, Short Communication First record of two Myliobatid Elasmobranchs from West Bengal, northern east coast of India, Records of the Zoological Survey of India 120 (4), pp. 491-494 : 491-492

Rhinoptera javanica Müller & Henle, 1841

Javanese cownose ray ( Figure 1 )

Material examined: MARC /ZSI/F1907, 2 ex, 440-458 mm disc width, Digha Mohona, 24.viii.2011, coll. Dipanjan Ray.

Diagnosis: Body rhombic; head distinct with two subrostral lobes divided by a deep median anterior notch. Disc falcate with convex end, dorsal fin erected at the base of tail. Pelvic fin long and narrow and no anal fin, whip like long tail, with a serrated spine at base. Head, upper surface and lower surface of disc smooth; minute denticles present of tail. Disc width: 440-458 mm; Mouth opening: 48-51 mm; anterior pectoral length 305-309 mm; posterior pectoral length 172-175 mm; pelvic fin: 41-43; head to vent: 230-236 mm; distance between 1st gill opening 72-76 mm. Colour: Upper surface of body brownish and lower surface whitish, Edge of pectoral, dorsal fin dark.

IUCN Status: Vulnerable (VU).

Distribution: Rhinoptera javanica is reported from Tamil Nadu ( James, 1962), Andhra Pradesh ( Devarapalli, 2017), Odisha coast (Barman, et al., 2007), Gujurat (Barman, et al., 2000), Maharastra ( Raje, 2000), Kerala ( Bijukumar & Raghavan, 2015), Karnataka (Barman, et al., 2013). The current report extends its distribution further northern in the Bay of Bengal coast to the West Bengal coast.

Figures

Figure 1. Rhinoptera javanica collected from West Bengal coast.