Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017

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 : 76

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4947.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7F3B4794-65CF-4691-A330-78A423F2606F

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4614907

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039287A1-9522-FFC5-CFF7-5F06FDEC2799

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017
status

 

Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017

Austin’s Guitarfish

Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017: 205 , figs. 1–6. Holotype: SAIAB 75223 View Materials . Type locality: Near Port Shepstone   GoogleMaps , KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, 30°50'S, 30°29'E.

Local synonymy: Rhinobatus annulatus (Natal form): Wallace, 1967b: 27, fig. 15 (in part); Compagno et al., 1989: 78, pl. (in part); Heemstra & Heemstra, 2004: 78. Rhinobatos holcorhynchus: Séret et al., 2016a: 98 , fig. 10.20 (in part, illustration is of R. austini ). Rhinobatos austini: Ebert & Gon, 2017: 205 , Figs. 1 View FIGURE 1 –6.

South Africa voucher material: Holotype: SAIAB 75223 View Materials ; paratypes: SAIAB 186420 View Materials , SAIAB 193574 View Materials . Non-type: SAIAB 11125 View Materials .

South African distribution: Port Shepstone north to KZN border with Mozambique.

Remarks: Accounts by Wallace (1967b, see fig. 15) and Compagno et al. (1989, see illustration on p. 79) described a Rhinobatos annulatus “Natal ” form that was distinguished by large brown spots from the “Cape” form. However, the “Natal” form is actually Rhinobatos austini , while the “Cape” form, which is now assigned to the genus Acroteriobatus , has numerous small eyespots on its dorsal surface. Furthermore, the recently described R. austini was also misidentified with R. holcorhynchus due to both species having a black teardrop-shaped blotch on the ventral surface of its snout. Recent re-examination of specimens from Mozambique and Madagascar has expanded the known range of R. austini . This species appears to inhabit a mostly coastal habitat from inshore to 107 m, but mostly less than 75 m depth, while R. holcorhynchus appears to occur in deeper water at depths from 75 m to at least 350 m ( Séret et al., 2016a; Ebert & Gon, 2017). The illustration in the species account of R. holcorhynchus in Séret et al. (2016a, see fig. 10.20) is actually R. austini .

Conservation status: DD (2019).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Elasmobranchii

Order

Rajiformes

Family

Rhinobatidae

Genus

Rhinobatos

Loc

Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017

Ebert, David A., Wintner, Sabine P. & Kyne, Peter M. 2021
2021
Loc

Rhinobatos austini Ebert & Gon, 2017: 205

Ebert, D. A. & Gon, O. 2017: 205
2017
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