Springeria nanhaiensis Meng & Li, 1981

White, William T. & Last, Peter R., 2013, Notes on shark and ray types at the South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute (SCSFRI) in Guangzhou, China, Zootaxa 3752 (1), pp. 228-248 : 239

Springeria nanhaiensis Meng & Li, 1981

[= Sinobatis borneensis ( Chan, 1965b) ]

( Figures 15–16 )

Springeria nanhaiensis Meng & Li in Chu, Meng, Hu & Li, 1981: 105, fig. 2 (South China Sea).

Anacanthobatis nanhaiensis – Séret, 1986: 323; McEachran & Dunn, 1998: 285; Compagno, 1999: 493; Compagno in Randall & Lim, 2000: 582; Last & Séret, 2008: 33; Ebert & Compagno, 2007: 122.

Springeria naihaiensis (misspelling) – Last & Séret, 2007: 36.

Questionable synonym of Sinobatis borneensis – Last & Séret, 2007: 36.

Material examined. SCSFRI S 04915 (holotype), subadult male 295 mm TL, South China Sea, depth 475 m, 2 Jul 1980 .

Remarks. Described by Meng & Li in Chu et al. (1981) based on single male and female specimens collected in the South China Sea. Members of the family Anacanthobatidae show very strong ontogenetic and sexual differences making them very difficult to determine based on specimen quality (often damaged or shrunken) and low numbers of specimens in collections. Last & Séret (2008) suggested that S. nanhaiensis , based on the illustration in Chu et al. (1981), is probably a juvenile of Sinobatis borneensis ( Chan, 1965b) , also from the South China Sea based on its small size. These authors also suggested that Springeria melanosoma Chan, 1965a is a valid species and, in the absence of a mature male, provisionally placed it within Sinobatis . Last & Séret (2008) did not discuss the validity of A. donghaiensis ( Deng, Xiong & Zhan, 1983) or A. stenosoma Li & Hu in Chu et al., 1982, other than to say the latter species is probably junior synonyms of one of the other described species. Thus, the generic placement of those two species is still unresolved. A thorough revision of the anacanthobatids of the western North Pacific using new material and molecular analysis is required so until that stage, Springeria nanhaiensis Meng & Li in Chu et al., 1981 should be considered a questionable synonym of Sinobatis borneensis ( Chan, 1965b) following Last & Séret (2008).

Figures

FIGURE 15. Dorsal view of the holotype of Springeria nanhaiensis SCSFRI S 04915 (subadult male 295 mm TL).

FIGURE 16. Ventral view of snout of the holotype of Springeria nanhaiensis SCSFRI S 04915 (subadult male 295 mm TL).