Acroteriobatus leucospilus

Acroteriobatus leucospilus, the grayspotted guitarfish, is a species of guitarfish of the family Rhinobatidae, found along the coast of Madagascar, South Africa, Mozambique, and Tanzania.[1][2] It has undergone a reduction in population of at least 50% over the past 15 years due to the alarming rate of overfishing and harvesting.[1]

Grayspotted guitarfish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Superorder: Batoidea
Order: Rhinopristiformes
Family: Rhinobatidae
Genus: Acroteriobatus
Species:
A. leucospilus
Binomial name
Acroteriobatus leucospilus
(Norman, 1926)
Range of Greyspotted guitarfish
Synonyms

Rhinobatos leucospilus Norman, 1926

Description

The characteristics of grayspotted guitarfish are the presence of elongated bluish-gray spots on snout, numerous small bluish spots on pectoral, pelvic, dorsal, and caudal fins, white ventral surface, white or stripped blue-brownish lateral tail folds, and 37 to 41 nasal lamellae counted.[2] Its reproduction system is ovoviviparous and the maximum length is 96 cm (female specimens).[2][1]

Habitat and distribution

Grayspotted guitarfish inhabits the inshore area to a depth of 100 m (328 ft).[2]

The coastal areas of its geographic range is known for heavy fishing pressure. This guitarfish is often captured by trawl and gillnet fisheries operating across its habitat. The meat are sold locally and the fins are exported to Asia.[1]

References

  1. Pollom, R.; Bennett, R.; Fernando, S.; Gledhill, K.; Kuguru, B. & Sink, K. (2019). "Acroteriobatus leucospilus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T161555A124505883. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T161555A124505883.en. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. Weigmann, S., D.A. Ebert, B. Séret (2021). "Resolution of the Acroteriobatus leucospilus species complex, with a redescription of A. leucospilus (Norman, 1926) and descriptions of two new western Indian Ocean species of Acroteriobatus (Rhinopristiformes, Rhinobatidae)". Marine Biodiversity. 51 (58). doi:10.1007/s12526-021-01208-6. S2CID 237695901.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.