Rhynchobatus Müller & Henle, 1837a

Ebert, David A., White, William T., Ho, Hsuan-Ching, Last, Peter R., Nakaya, Kazuhiro, Séret, Bernard, Straube, Nicolas, Naylor, Gavin J. P. & De Carvalho, Marcelo R., 2013, An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyans of Taiwan, Zootaxa 3752 (1), pp. 279-386 : 346-348

Genus Rhynchobatus Müller & Henle, 1837a

Wedgefishes / ằĠḍé

Rhynchobatus Müller & Henle, 1837a:116 . Type species: Rhinobatus laevis Bloch & Schneider, 1801 , by monotypy.

Rhynchobatus australiae Whitley, 1939

Whitespotted wedgefish/ ffihằĠḍ

Rhynchobatus djiddensis australiae Whitley, 1939:245 , Fig. 14. Holotype: AMS IA.4959, off Manning River mouth, New South Wales, Australia.

Local synonymy: Not previously recorded. Additional presumed misidentifications of Rhynchobatus djiddensis (i.e. Chen, 1956: 24; Chen, 1969: 76; Yang & Chen, 1971: 6; Chen & Yu, 1986: 145; Shao et al., 1994: 277) cannot be accurately ascribed to this or any of the species listed below.

Taiwan voucher material: (1 specimen) HUMZ 109480 , Kaohsiung fish market, 16 Apr 1986 .

Remarks: Another specimen exists of this species deposited in the Fishery Institute with unconfirmed locality. A revision of the western North Pacific members of this genus is urgently required.

Conservation status: Vulnerable.

Rhynchobatus palpebratus Compagno & Last, 2008

Eyebrow Wedgefish / ḌḊằĠḍ

Rhynchobatus palpebratus Compagno & Last, 2008:230 , figs. 1–3. Holotype: CSIRO H 3384-01 , off Wessel Islands , Arafura Sea, Northern Territory, Australia.

Local synonymy: Rhynchobatus djiddensis: Chen & Joung, 1993: 619 , fig 9.6; Shao et al., 2008:93, fig.

Taiwan voucher material: (2 spec.) NMMB-P 6294, 544 mm TL, Keelung, 18 Dec 1960 ; NMMB-P 15663, 535 mm TL.

Remarks: Known from the Indo-Malay Archipelago, from northern Australia to the Andaman Sea. This is a new record for Taiwan.

Conservation status: Not Evaluated.

Rhynchobatus springeri Compagno & Last, 2010

Broadnose Wedgefish / DZkằĠḍ

Rhynchobatus springeri Compagno & Last, 2010:79 , figs. 1–3. Holotype: RMNH PISC 38539 , Jakarta, Java, Indonesia.

Local synonymy: Rhynchobatus djiddensis :? Yang, 1979: 6, fig 5;? Yang & Chen, 1971:3, fig.

Taiwan voucher material: (2 spec.) NMMB-P 6283, 642 mm TL, Dong-gang , 16 May 1960 ; NMMB-P 10844, 530 mm TL, Keelung, Feb 2009 .

Remarks: A new record for Taiwan, the species was previously known from Indo-Malay Archipelago, from Thailand south to Borneo, Java, Singapore and the Philippines. Unlike other wedgefishes this species appears to venture into more brackish habitats.

Conservation status: Vulnerable.

Rhynchobatus immaculatus Last, Ho & Chen, 2013

Taiwanese Wedgefish / âŌằĠḍ

Rhynchobatus immaculatus Last, Ho & Chen, 2013:187 , figs. 2–8. Holotype: NMMB-P 16274 , juvenile male 730 mm TL, Keelung fish market, 16 Mar 2012.

Local synonymy: Rhynchobatus djiddensis :? Yang, 1979: 6, fig 5;? Yang & Chen, 1971:3, fig. Rhynchobatus immaculatus: Last et al., 2013 .

Taiwan voucher material: Holotype: NMMB-P 16274 , juvenile male 730 mm TL, Keelung fish market, 16 Mar 2012. Paratypes (3): CSIRO H 7418–01 , juvenile male 890 mm TL, Wu-chi, Taichung County , Taiwan Strait, western Taiwan, ca. 24°18'N, 120°29'E, 21 May 2010; NMMB-P 16135 , female 780 mm TL, Keelung fish market, 9 Mar 2012; NMMB-P 16275 (tissue accession GN10067 ), female 740 mm TL, Keelung fish market, 16 Mar 2012. Six additional non-type specimens are listed in Last et al. (2013) .

Remarks: Newly discovered and described in this issue, possibly endemic to the seas around Taiwan.

Conservation status: Not Evaluated.