Rhinoptera bonasus
Cownose Ray
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fishes)
Myliobatiformes (Stingrays)
Myliobatidae (Eagle Rays)
Rhinoptera
Rhinoptera bonasus (Cownose Ray)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Lozenge-shaped disc; bilobed snout (subrostral lobes); slender, long, whiplike tail; preorbital length 2% of disc width (DW); disc 1.7 times as broad as long; anterior margins of disc straight to weakly concave; outer corners acutely angled; posterior margins concave; teeth in 7 series of plates (occasionally 6 or 8); median series plates twice as wide as adjacent series and 3 to 5 times as wide as outer series; dorsal fin origin above axil of pelvic fin; length of base of dorsal fin about equal to distance between exposed nostrils; body naked.
Brownish dorsally and white to yellowish white ventrally.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from southern New England to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba.
Habitat Associations
Close to shore
Biology
Bivalve and gastropod mollusks, and crustaceans.
Maximum known size is 91 cm DW
Litters range from two to six young; females mature at 78 cm DW; young are 15 to 21 cm DW at birth.
A benthopelagic species found on continental and insular shelves; enters bays and estuaries; forms huge schools inshore (Ref. 114953). Feeds mainly on benthic invertebrates and molluscs (implicated in damaging seagrass beds) (Ref. 93252, 114953). Jumps occasionally, landing with a loud smack, probably as a territorial display. Migrates south in large schools that disappear off northern Florida, USA and are not reported from Caribbean Is.; tagged fish have been recovered in northern South America (Ref. 7251). Population in the Gulf of Mexico migrates clockwise; schools of up to 10,000 rays leave west coast of Florida for Yucatan, Mexico in the fall (Ref. 7251). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2019-06-21. Resilience: Low (Fec assumed to be <100).
Phylogeny and Morphologically Similar Fishes
Distinguished from other species of the family by the combination of characters described.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Bigelow and Schroeder 1953a
Hoese and Moore 1977
Snelson and Williams 1981
Smith and Merriner 1985
Smith and Merriner 1986
Smith and Merriner 1987
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Schwartz 1990
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Cervigón, F., R. Cipriani, W. Fischer, L. Garibaldi, M. Hendrickx, A.J. Lemus, R. Márquez, J.M. Poutiers, G. Robaina and B. Rodriguez (1992) Fichas FAO de identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Guía de campo de las especies comerciales marinas y de aquas salobres de la costa septentrional de Sur América. FAO, Rome. 513 p. Preparado con el financiamento de la Comisión de Comunidades Europeas y de NORAD.
Bigelow, H.B. and W.C. Schroeder (1953) Sawfishes, guitarfishes, skates and rays. p. 1-514. In J. Tee-Van et al. (eds.) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part two. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Gines, H. and F. Cervigón (1967) Exploracion pesquera en las costas de Guyana y Surinam año 1967. Estacíon de Investigaciones Marinas de Margarita. Fundacíon La Salle de Ciencias Naturales, no. 29.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Gómez-Canchong, P., L. Manjarrés M., L.O. Duarte and J. Altamar (2004) Atlas pesquero del area norte del Mar Caribe de Colombia. Universidad del Magadalena, Santa Marta. 230 p.
Last, P.R., W.T. White, M.R. de Carvalho, B. Séret, M.F.W. Stehmann and G.J.P. Naylor (2016) Rays of the world. CSIRO Publishing, Comstock Publishing Associates. i-ix + 1-790.
Comments On Rhinoptera bonasus