Aetobatus ocellatus

The ocellated eagle ray or the whitespotted eagle ray, Aetobatus ocellatus, is a species of cartilaginous fish in the eagle ray family Myliobatidae. It is found in the tropical Indo-West Pacific region.[2][3] In the past it was included in the spotted eagle ray (A. narinari), a species restricted to the Atlantic after the split.[4][5][6]

Aetobatus ocellatus
Aetobatus ocellatus in the Maldives
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Chondrichthyes
Order:
Myliobatiformes
Family:
Myliobatidae
Genus:
Aetobatus
Species:
A. ocellatus
Binomial name
Aetobatus ocellatus
(Kuhl, 1823)

Description and behavior

Compared to the spotted eagle ray, A. ocellatus has a longer tail (mean total length 281 vs. 263% DW) and a longer stinging spine (mean length 9.7 vs. 8.9% DW). The background coloration of the dorsal surface in A. ocellatus is dark greenish/greying to almost blackish whereas A. narinari is much paler, medium yellowish to brownish.[4] Their foraging range is based on anthropogenic noises with populations structured according to ontogenetic stage.[7]

Reproduction

The ocellated eagle ray exhibits ovoviviparity with embryos feeding on yolk initially, then receiving additional nutrients from the mother through indirect absorption of enriched uterine fluid.[8] The gestation period lasts over 12 months and only produces a few pups.[9]

Diet

The ocellated eagle ray feeds primarily on gastropod, bivalve molluscs, crustaceans, worms, octopuses and fishes.[10]

References
  1. Kyne, P.M.; Dudgeon, C.L.; Ishihara, H.; Dudley, S.F.J.; White, W.T. (2016). "Aetobatus ocellatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T42566169A42566212. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T42566169A42566212.en. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. "Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823)". FishBase. Retrieved 2015-05-17.
  3. Kuhl, H. in van Hasselt, J.C. (1823) Uittreksel uit een’ brief van Dr. J. C. van Hasselt, aan den Heer C. J. Temminck. Algemein Konst- en Letter-bode I Deel (no. 20): 315–317.
  4. White, W.T., P.R. Last, G.J.P. Naylor, K. Jensen & J.N. Caira (2010). Clarification of Aetobatus ocellatus (Kuhl, 1823) as a valid species, and a comparison with Aetobatus narinari (Euphrasen, 1790) (Rajiformes: Myliobatidae). Pp. 141–164 in: Last, P.R., White, W.T. & Pogonoski, J.J., eds. (2010). Descriptions of new sharks and rays from Borneo. CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Paper no. 32.
  5. Richards, V. P.; Henning, M.; Witzell, W.; Shivji, M. S. (2009). "Species Delineation and Evolutionary History of the Globally Distributed Spotted Eagle Ray (Aetobatus narinari)". Journal of Heredity. 100 (3): 273–283. doi:10.1093/jhered/esp005. PMID 19304741.
  6. White, William T. (2014). "A revised generic arrangement for the eagle ray family Myliobatidae, with definitions for the valid genera". Zootaxa. 3860 (2): 149–66. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3860.2.3. PMID 25283197.
  7. Lecchini, David (2018). "Distribution patterns of ocellated eagle rays, Aetobatus ocellatus, along two sites in Moorea Island, French Polynesia". Cybium. 42 (4): 313–320.
  8. Dulvy, Nicholas K.; Reynolds, John D. (1997). "Evolutionary transitions among egg–laying, live–bearing and maternal inputs in sharks and rays". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences. 264 (1386): 1309–1315. Bibcode:1997RSPSB.264.1309D. doi:10.1098/rspb.1997.0181. PMC 1688595.
  9. Schluessel, V (2010). "Diet and reproduction in the white-spotted eagle ray Aetobatus nari- nari from Queensland, australia and the Penghu islands, Taiwan". Mar. Freshw. Res. 61 (11): 1278–1289. doi:10.1071/MF09261.
  10. Randall, J.E. and Cea, A. (2011). Shore fishes of Easter Island. University of Hawai'i Press, 164 p.
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